Aim <p>This research utilized VOSviewer and Bibliometrix to explore the landscape of health anxiety, highlighting current research trends and potential future directions.</p> Subject and methods <p>We performed a broad examination in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) to identify pertinent studies on health anxiety published over the past 20 years, from the year 2000 until 2025. VOSviewer and Bibliometrix were mainly used to examine different elements such as authors, countries, institutions, publishing journals, keyword co-occurrence, and patterns of reference co-citation, with the objective of creating a knowledge atlas.</p> Results <p>A total of 5081 publications concerning health anxiety were collected. The overall number of publications has shown a general increase over time, albeit with some fluctuations. The United States appeared as the leading country in terms of publication output, with Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz recognized as the most prolific institution, and Michael Witthoeft identified as the most productive author in the domain.</p> Conclusion <p>This investigation emphasized the key publications, journals, authors, countries, and institutions that have significantly impacted the area of health anxiety investigation. Future research trends include diagnosis and evaluation, advanced treatments encompassing pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, exploration of cognitive and behavioral mechanisms related to health anxiety, and understanding the influence of social and environmental factors on its expansion.</p>