•Personalizing these technologies can convey the narratives of people with dementia.•Family involvement in personalization aids both care staff and dementia patients.•Assess caregivers' needs before implementing technology-based interventions.•Training, support, and integration of multimedia tools should be sensitive.•Evaluate social benefits and caregiver burden to measure intervention efficacy. Interactive multimedia systems are widely used to enhance participation in meaningful activities for older people living with dementia. This review aims to analyze and synthesize current evidence regarding personalization of these systems, by considering the type of content included, the selection process and the experience of people living with dementia when interacting with the content. In accordance with PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO registration number blinded for review), a systematic search was undertaken across 4 databases. Meta-aggregation pooled data for synthesis. A total of 520 articles were identified from searches in four databases, and 15 were included in this review. Two classes of content were identified: personal, often autobiographical; and curated, carefully chosen generic content appropriate for a wider group of people in the demographic. Variety of content can act as a trigger for autobiographical memories. Personalized music enhanced a desire to engage and prompted meaningful interactions among participants. Despite some differences in the selected studies, the findings enabled us outline key points to consider when personalizing interactive multimedia systems for people living with dementia. Further research should focus on studying the social condition of the target users during the personalization process and on the benefits for caregivers.