Implementing field research projects in the Global South is characterised by a range of ethical complexities. While literature has identified ethical challenges pertaining to study participants, we argue that the principle of “do no harm” should equally apply to research staff. We conduct a systematic review to identify the key ethical challenges that affect research staff at different hierarchical levels and world regions. We searched twelve social sciences databases, screened a total of 19700 titles and abstracts, and found 165 eligible primary studies from which we extracted detailed data. Identified ethical challenges included (i) security risks, (ii) emotional burden and secondary trauma, (iii) power imbalances between team members from the Global North and Global South, (iv) inadequate acknowledgment of local contributions, and (v) precarious working conditions. Highlighted alleviation strategies included (i) external psychological support, (ii) close supervisor-supervisee relationships, (iii) adaptations of funding policies, and (iv) building of insitutional support mechanisms. The research community needs to engage in a constructive discussion of which “best practices” could further enhance the ethical integrity of field research projects in the Global South.