Based on CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and R language bibliometric package Bibliometric, a visual analysis of literature related to electroacupuncture treatment of depression is conducted, summarizing and summarizing the research hotspots and trends in this field, in order to assist in the future development of related fields. Using 1029 articles from CNKI and Web of Science databases from January 1, 2003 to September 25, 2023 as data, CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and R language bibliometric package Bibliometric were used to conduct co-occurrence analysis and graph drawing on countries, authors, research institutions, and keywords. In the past 20 years, the research on the treatment of depression with electroacupuncture has fluctuated, showing a trend of stable Chinese publications reaching a high level, while English publications show an overall long-term rising trend with minor inter-year fluctuations. China has the largest number of publications and has the closest cooperation with other countries. Compared with English literature, the author cooperation network in Chinese literature is more scattered, with “academic connections” being dominant compared to “geographical connections”, and the core author’s publication time is mainly before 2018. At the same time, close cooperation among various institutions needs to be carried out. In the literature, keywords related to mechanisms have emerged significantly and frequently in recent years. The research on the relevant mechanisms of electroacupuncture treatment for depression has become a current research hotspot. There is still room for development in clinical safety related research; Relevant researchers and institutions should strengthen cross institutional and cross regional cooperation, and promote the internationalization of research in related fields.
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