Calf mortality is a key issue for the north Australian beef industry; however, the sector faces several challenges that preclude the detection and reduction of calf mortality rates. A systematic literature review methodology was employed to explore scientific literature describing the scope of calf loss in northern Australia. Online databases were used to locate articles reporting on beef calf mortality rates within the north Australian region. Articles (n = 43) consisting of 668 beef cattle cohorts were retrieved that reported calf mortality between 1936 and 2014. Of these, 13 different observation periods were identified. Most cohorts (n = 201) examined mortality between the pregnancy to weaning period, whereas only 20 cohorts in four studies were located that investigated calf mortality in the perinatal and postnatal periods. A broad seasonal and regional influence was identified, however, the dilution of the datasets due to the high number of timeline variations, prevented robust statistical analysis and the further examination of influential factors, such as breed. The results of the systematic literature review indicate that the resolution of the data available does not allow for producers or researchers to accurately target the occurrence or cause of calf mortality. Experimental protocols for future research pertaining to reproductive efficiency and calf loss in northern Australia should be standardised. Consistency in reporting factors and periods must first occur for robust statistical analyses to be achieved.

小牛死亡率是北澳大利亚牛肉业的关键问题。但是，该部门面临着许多挑战，无法检测和降低小牛死亡率。采用了系统的文献综述方法来探索描述澳大利亚北部小牛损失范围的科学文献。在线数据库用于查找有关北澳大利亚地区牛肉犊牛死亡率的报道。 检索了由668个肉牛队列组成的文章（n = 43），这些文章报告了1936年至2014年之间的小牛死亡率。其中，确定了13个不同的观察期。大多数学生（ñ = 201）检查了从怀孕到断奶期间的死亡率，而四项研究中只有20个队列研究了围产期和产后小腿的死亡率。确定了广泛的季节和区域影响，但是，由于时间轴变化很大，导致数据集稀疏，无法进行可靠的统计分析，也无法进一步检查影响因素（例如品种）。系统性文献综述的结果表明，现有数据的分辨率不允许生产者或研究者准确确定小牛死亡率的发生或原因。有关澳大利亚北部生殖效率和犊牛损失的未来研究的实验方案应予以标准化。