CONTEXT: Despite the availability of numerous tools professing to measure quality of life (QOL) in the palliative care setting, no single instrument includes all patient-valued domains. OBJECTIVES: To identify which aspects of QOL are important from palliative care patients' perspectives, aiding coverage and content validity evaluation of available tools. METHODS: A systematic review and synthesis of qualitative research was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. ASSIA, CINAHL, Cochrane library, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO and PubMed were searched from database inception to December 31, 2015. Published, peer-reviewed, English-language articles reporting primary qualitative data investigating QOL domains in adults with a progressive, life-limiting illness were included. Studies a priori exploring a chosen aspect of QOL were not included. Articles scoring