Objective To analyze the research status and development trends of opioid‑free anesthesia (OFA). Methods The Web of Science (WoS) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases were accessed for all OFA‑related academic journals and theses. Bibliometric analysis was performed using VOSviewer to analyze annual publication number, main publishing countries, high‑frequency keywords, the publication number of major journals, and citation counts. Results A total of 208 English and 58 Chinese related documents were included. The publication number of OFA increased annually, with the majority of studies conducted in the United States, France, and China. The research hotspots were primarily focused on clinical randomized controlled trials. Co‑occurrence analysis revealed 10 high‑frequency English keywords and 8 high‑frequency Chinese keywords. Major journals publishing in this field included Anesthesia and Analgesia, BMC Anesthesiology, and the European Journal of Anesthesiology. OFA has been applied in a variety of surgeries, such as gynecological surgery, bariatric surgery, thyroid surgery, breast surgery and laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Conclusions OFA‑related research shows a steady growth trend, with researchers primarily focused on the effectiveness and safety of OFA in clinical applications, which is expected to remain a key research focus in the future.