Peipei Fu, Shouni Wang, Ying-Xue Ding
Background Brain injury is a leading cause of neurological disability, yet treatment options remain scarce. Ferroptosis has gained recognition as a central pathological mechanism, but the explosive growth of this literature, particularly post-2020, has outpaced any systematic effort to chart its trajectory. A bibliometric synthesis offers an empirical basis for assessing current priorities and identifying translational bottlenecks.Methods We systematically retrieved regular and review articles on ferroptosis and brain injury research from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database from July 9, 2010 to June 5, 2025. Following rigorous screening of 484 initial records, 461 English articles and reviews were selected for comprehensive analysis. Using VOSviewer, we examined publication trends, mapped collaboration networks, and identified research hotspots via keyword co-occurrence analysis.Results Annual publications surged post-2020 (94.58% of total), peaking in 2024. Chinese institutions led research productivity, with Soochow University (29 publications) as top contributor. Key collaboration hubs included Zhejiang University (TLS = 29) and Soochow University (TLS = 27). The most prolific author was Luo Chengliang (81 publications), while Gao Cheng had the strongest collaborative network (Links = 25). Research focused primarily on traumatic brain injury (TBI, frequency = 67) and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH, frequency = 51), with deferoxamine appeared as a frequent keyword (frequency = 38).Conclusions TBI and ICH represent the primary research foci, with Chinese institutions accounting for the largest share of publications. The predominance of preclinical studies highlights the current gap between mechanistic research and clinical application.