Acupuncture is a kind of therapy related to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that involves the use of needles to pierce certain points in the body to promote healing [1,2]. Since the 18th century, acupuncture has attracted widespread attention globally as an alternative therapy due to its effectiveness in treating various neuropathic, painful, and complex diseases. Since then, acupuncture research has developed rapidly, and the published articles on this topic can reflect the evolution of acupuncture research [3,4].

Bibliometric analysis is used to assess and quantify the research to identify the core researchers, institutes, countries, and their collaborations [5]. Keyword co-occurrence analysis, citation analysis, and burst analysis directly reflect the research trends and topic hotspots in a field [6]. This study mainly used CiteSpace 6.1.R3 and VOSviewer 1.6.18 visualization tools. The information on acupuncture research available on the Web of Science database in the last decade was systematically analyzed. The annual distribution, national distribution, institute distribution, author collaboration knowledge graph, citation network, and keyword network of the research in this field were analyzed to reveal the current status and trends of international acupuncture research.