Dialogue journal writing is a tool utilised in the teaching of writing that allows teachers to provide feedback and responses to students’ writing in a non-corrective manner. It is believed that this teaching tool can improve students’ overall writing ability. Over a span of 20 years of published studies, this systematic review will examine the effectiveness of dialogue journal writing on English language learners’ overall writing skills. A total of 692 English language learners (ELLs) in 1997 to 2019 are represented in the analyses across 19 studies; seven cases of action research, one case study and eleven experimental studies. Findings suggest that ELLs benefit from dialogue journal writing in terms of specific English writing skills both academically and socially. Implications for further study and practice are also discussed.