Matrix insertion-deletion systems combine the idea of matrix control (a control mechanism well established in regulated rewriting) with that of insertion and deletion (as opposed to replacements). Given a matrix insertion-deletion system, the size of such a system is given by a septuple of integers (k; n, i′, i′ ′; m, j′, j′ ′). The first integer k denotes the maximum number of rules in (length of) any matrix. The next three parameters n, i′, i′ ′ denote the maximal length of the insertion string, the maximal length of the left context, and the maximal length of the right context of insertion rules, respectively. The last three parameters m, j′, j′ ′ are similarly understood for deletion rules. In this paper, we improve on and complement previous computational completeness results for such systems, showing that matrix insertion-deletion systems of size (1) (3; 1, 0, 1; 1, 0, 1), (3; 1, 0, 1; 1, 1, 0), (3; 1, 1, 1; 1, 0, 0) and (3; 1, 0, 0; 1, 1, 1) (2) (2; 1, 0, 1; 2, 0, 0), (2; 2, 0, 0; 1, 0, 1), (2; 1, 1, 1; 1, 1, 0) and (2; 1, 1, 0; 1, 1, 1), are computationally complete. Further, we also discuss linear and metalinear languages and we show how to simulate grammars characterizing them by matrix insertion-deletion systems of size (3; 1, 1, 0; 1, 0, 0), (3; 1, 0, 1; 1, 0, 0), (2; 2, 1, 0; 1, 0, 0) and (2; 2, 0, 1; 1, 0, 0). We also generate non-semilinear languages using matrices of length three with context-free insertion and deletion rules. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature.