The purpose of this study was to arrange the accomplishments of domestic studies on factors affecting the independent living of people with severe disabilities by applying a meta-analysis. The original texts of 116 theses, dissertations and articles provided by the National Assembly Library and the National Library of Korea were selected, and six theses, dissertations and articles were finally selected from among the data. The findings of the study were as follows: First, as for a pervasive trend in the studies on independent living, the first studies were conducted in the 1990s, and full-scale studies have been implemented since 2000. Concerning the themes, the studies mostly dealt with problem-centered policies or services rather than methodology, and covered disabilities from an all-around perspective without concentrating on any particular types of disabilities. Second, the correlation among general, family and social characteristics was checked after the data were coded, and all the three factors had an impact on independent living. The attempt to make a meta-analysis of the findings of the different studies was meaningful in that it confirmed what affected the independent living of severely disabled people. The findings are expected to pave the way for more efficient and professional future research on the same theme. Specifically, this study made an exploratory effort to find out the trend in studies on independent living and lead the lopsided research trend in the right direction.