Peatlands support unique biodiversity and essential ecosystem services, such as regulating climate and providing freshwater and food. However, land-use change, resource extraction and changing climates are threatening peatlands globally. Restoring degraded peatlands requires re-establishing the key features that drive these ecosystems – the hydrology, chemical properties and characteristic biota. Using the best-available evidence to identify interventions that will effectively abate threats and restore ecological processes can facilitate successful conservation. ‘Rapid evidence reviews’ have emerged in healthcare as a method of delivering key research findings to policymakers and decision-makers in a timely manner. Here, we used a rapid-review approach to identify, appraise and synthesise scientific evidence on the effectiveness of interventions intended to restore the hydrology, chemical properties and/or characteristic biota of degraded boreal, montane, alpine and temperate peatlands