Firm internationalisation has been enduringly related to competitiveness, while the lack of internationalisation has been used as an indicator of limited competitiveness. However, the implications of withdrawing from international markets on competitiveness have mostly remained absent from the mainstream debate in international business. This paper presents a systematic review of literature on firm de-internationalisation, particularly focussing on its motives and symptoms, in contemporary scholarly discussion. The results show that competitiveness is not adequately conceptualised in de-internationalisation research, opening a gap for further scholarly enquiry