Reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RTqPCR) is regarded as the most sensitive method to quantify RNA, but its extreme sensitivity makes it prone to methodological errors affecting the reliability of results. One of the most critical aspects to obtain reliable RTqPCR data is the normalization of raw data using reference genes (internal control genes or ICG). Pivotal to obtain reliable normalization is the use of multiple ICG that have been tested for their reliability. Several algorithms, such as GeNorm or NormFinder allow the user to select a suitable set of ICG. Despite the clear advantages of this method, far too often RTqPCR studies are normalized using a single, unverified ICG, often leading to unreliable results. With the purpose of determining what is common practice of RTqPCR normalization in our field, we performed a meta-analysis of all RT-qPCR studies published from 2013 to 2017 in the 5 most prominent journals related to livestock science (n = 227). To evaluate the proper use of normalization we developed a score accounting for number of ICG used (<2 = 0, 2 = 23, >2 = 35), the validation of ICG (No = 0, Yes = 50), and the report of indexes of the validation (No = 0, Yes = 15). The mean ± SD score was 31.4 ± 38.9. Less than 20% of the papers received a score of 100, while > 45% of the papers scored 0. The use of a single ICG accounted for 57.6% in 2013 and increased to 83.3% in 2017. The absence of any validation of ICG accounted for 68.7% of the publications. The studies where the ICG were validated using an algorithm (YAL) encompassed a wider variety of ICG (54 vs. 36) than the ones that did not use an algorithm (NAL). The 5 most recurrent ICG in NAL were GAPDH, ACTB, RNA18S, RPS9, and B2M, that were used to normalize 72.5% of the publications, as opposed to YAL, where they accounted for 43.3% of the publications. As multiple publications have demonstrated the danger of improper normalization, our data clearly reveal serious problems in the normalization of RTqPCR jeopardizing the reliability of results from studies carried out in livestock.