This paper presents the results of systematically reviewing the current research literature on the use of agile practices and lean software development in global software engineering (GSE). The primary purpose is to highlight under which circumstances they have been applied efficiently. Some common terms related to agile practices (e.g. scrum, extreme programming) were considered in formulating the search strings, along with a number of alternatives for GSE such as offshoring, outsourcing, and virtual teams. The results were limited to peer-reviewed conference papers/journal articles, published between 1999 and 2009. The synthesis was made through classifying the papers into different categories (e.g. research type, distribution). The analysis revealed that in most cases agile practices were modified with respect to the context and situational requirements. This indicates the need for future research on how to integrate all experiences and practices in a way to assist practitioners when setting up non-collocated agile projects.