Given the emphasis on critical thinking across the undergraduate curricula, research on argument visualisation has significant implications for designing learning activities in higher education. This systematic review examines research on the use of argument maps or diagrams by postsecondary students. The goals were to identify the themes, research questions, and results of systematically identified studies, and to assess the current prospects for meta-analyses. Relevant databases were searched for qualitative, observational and experimental studies. We coded 124 studies on research design, mapping software, student attitudes, collaborative mapping and thinking skills. There were 102 empirical studies, of which 44% assessed student attitudes toward argument mapping, 40% investigated collaborative argument mapping and 51% examined the quality or structure of student-constructed argument maps. The causal relationship most frequently investigated was the effect of argument mapping on critical thinking skills. We present the results from selected studies and consider their significance for learning design.