Objective To conduct a visual analysis of Chinese and English literature related to drought stress research on medicinal plants using bibliometric methods, and to explore the research progress and future development trends in this field.

Methods Using CNKI, WanFang Data, and VIP Database as sources for Chinese literature, with the retrieval period from January 1, 2006 to January 1, 2026. Web of Science (WOS) as the source for English literature, covering the period from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2026. Software including VOSviewer 1.6.20 and CiteSpace 6.4.R1 were adopted to analyze annual publication volume, author and institutional collaboration networks, keyword co-occurrence, clustering, timeline and burst detection, and relevant visual maps were generated.

Results A total of 1,354 studies were included in this study, comprising 291 (21.49%) Chinese literature and 1,063 (78.51%) English literature. Research on medicinal plants under drought stress was currently dominated by English literature, with fluctuating publication volumes in both Chinese and English. Most publications were produced through collaborative research teams. The China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences ranked first in the number of Chinese-language publications (8 papers), while the Chinese Academy of Sciences had the largest number of English-language publications (50 papers). Keyword co-occurrence analysis revealed that the top 3 keywords in Chinese were medicinal plants (63), drought stress (28), and abiotic stress (16). For English publications, the top 3 keywords were drought stress (314), drought (241), and growth (223). Chinese studies had broad coverage including aspects such as cultivation techniques, while English researches focus on molecular mechanisms such as gene expression and metabolite accumulation. Cluster analysis revealed that the 9 clusters of Chinese literature primarily focused on cultivation and chemical composition, whereas the 10 clusters of English literature emphasized molecular regulation. Timeline mapping revealed that Chinese research focused traditional topics such as drought stress, while English research consistently investigated water-related issues and gene expression. Burst analysis indicated that among Chinese studies, 17 keywords had shifted from fundamental research to the molecular level; among English studies, 16 keywords highlighted the synergy between drought and heat stress.

Conclusion Research on drought stress in medicinal plants has been continuously growing, shifting from macroscopic physiology to microscopic molecular mechanisms, and from single stress to combined stress. The core research directions are consistent between Chinese and international studies, with multi-omics technologies having become mainstream. Future efforts should focus on strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration, deepening the understanding of molecular regulatory networks, conducting research on combined stresses, and promoting the translation and application of research outcomes to ensure the yield, quality, and sustainable utilization of medicinal plants.

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