Objective To analyze the research status of radiation-resistant abnormal cocci, Deinococcus radiodurans, at home and abroad; identify frontier and hot issues; and preliminarily evaluate future development and prospects in order to provide information and direction for further research.

Methods Numerous publications from the Web of Science and China national knowledge infrastructure were examined. Advanced search was used to search for relevant literatures between 2009 and 2018 that contain the keyword "Deinococcus radiodurans". Literature research covered the full spectrum of major indicators, such as the number of literatures published, journals published, author information, keywords, and countries. CiteSpace V.5.5, an authoritative tool for the visual analysis of literatures at home and abroad, was used to analyze the above information. in a multi-dimensional, time-sharing and dynamic way, to explore the relationship among the indicators and analyze the development trends, hotspots, and frontier fields of research.

Results A total of 1026 English literatures and 157 Chinese literatures were reviewed. Statistical analyses revealed that the number of English literatures is stable but there is a small fluctuation decline trend in the past 10 years. By contrast, the number of Chinese literatures has fluctuated during the same period. However, the citation of Chinese literatures is increasing year after year. Among Chinese literatures, Hua YJ (Hua Yuejin) ranked first with 48 English papers, and Chen Ming has published the most in Chinese literatures with 14 papers. The main international journals are Plos One and Journal of Biological Chemistry, and the most popular domestic journal is the Journal of Nuclear Agricultural Sciences. The main research institutions are universities and atomic research centers, and the top three countries are America, China and France. Their studies focused on the resistance genes of Deinococcus radiodurans, but their specific research directions are scattered.

Conclusions Current research on Deinococcus radiodurans is focused on its resistance genes. Therefore, the mechanism of its radiation resistance will still be a research hotspot in the future, and its application in medical treatment, agriculture, and environmental governance has a lot of room for exploration.