Recently, there has been a growing interest in the potential of virtual reality-based teacher training (VRBTT). Despite this surge, the impact of VRBTT on teacher training outcomes remains unclear and cannot be generalized from generic VR-based training approaches. This study aimed to evaluate the overall effects of VRBTT and explore potentially effective instructional design features during the planning, implementation, and evaluation phases of VRBTT, respectively, based on the NLN Jeffries simulation theory. To achieve this, data were collected from Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. A meta-analysis was constructed based on 58 studies across 29 articles, involving a total of 1421 participants, covering the period from 2013 to 2023. The findings revealed that VRBTT had a low-medium effect on teacher training outcomes. Notably, during the planning phase, three instructional design features of VRBTT-objective, learning design model, and learning loop-significantly moderated the effect sizes. During the implementation phase of VRBTT, three instructional design features-avatar autonomy, static feedback, and participant role-were significant moderators of effect sizes. No significant moderators were found during the evaluation phase of VRBTT. Following the detailed discussion of the findings, this study offered recommendations on instructional design guidelines for VRBTT.