IntroductionTeacher professional identity is central to effective English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education, particularly in reform-intensive and culturally complex contexts. This systematic review examines how EFL teachers' attitudes shape professional identity formation and how this relationship is mediated by institutional support, professional development, career stage, and curriculum reform.MethodsGuided by PRISMA 2020, the review synthesised 30 peer-reviewed empirical studies published between 2015 and 2024 and indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC. Studies were screened using explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria, appraised through the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), and analysed using thematic synthesis.ResultsThe review identified six interrelated themes : identity as a dialogical and socially constructed process; attitudes as mediators of reform engagement; professional development as a source of symbolic and cultural capital; institutional power as a condition of identity negotiation; career stage as a moderator of responses to reform; and technology or curriculum change as a trigger for identity reconstruction. The synthesis shows that teacher attitudes are not merely background dispositions but function as mediating and moderating mechanisms through which EFL teachers interpret reform demands and construct professional selves.DiscussionThe review contributes an integrative synthesis model that foregrounds affective orientation within reform-driven identity work and identifies methodological gaps for future longitudinal, comparative, and mixed-method research.