Purpose <p>Dredged sediments have become a significant environmental concern in the current era. Under the circular economy concept, numerous researchers have explored reusing dredged sediments as sustainable construction materials to diminish the potential environmental risks. Therefore, conducting a systematic review of research on dredged sediment recycling as sustainable construction materials is paramount. However, there is a lack of comprehensive discussions on this topic, especially since no publications have undertaken bibliometric analysis reviews.</p> Materials and methods <p>This study conducted a bibliometric analysis of the worldwide scientific output on sediment waste recycling research to identify emergent trends and focal points. The Web of Science database was searched for relevant literature from 1995 to 2024, and numerous parameters, including annual trends, countries, institutions, authors, journals, subject categories, keywords, and topic terms. This study also analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of reused dredged sediments as sustainable construction materials in various civil engineering sub-fields. Finally, a future development perspective was proposed.</p> Results and discussion <p>The review findings demonstrate dredged sediment recycling research as an interdisciplinary and intersectoral field attracting increasing national and institutional attention. Wide-ranging international collaborations facilitated the rapid increase in the volume of publications on sediment recycling research. The findings reveal a significant increase in sediment waste recycling-related publications over the past 30 years. Significantly, notable contributions were made by China and France, and these and the other top 10 most productive countries or territories contributed 95.57% of all publications. Notably, 90.03% of China’s research output was published in the past eight years, highlighting its emerging dominance. Among the top 10 most productive institutions, five are located in China, with the remainder in France. Additionally, Engineering is projected to become the field with the highest publication volume post-2024, which surpassed other disciplines in annual publications and has strong development potential. The analysis further found that a noteworthy shift was also discernible in the primary keyword trends and hot topics, which changed from contamination mechanisms to technology applications. Comparison between applications shows recycling dredged sediment in road materials is the most promising approach. Finally, this study offers prospects for using solid waste-based binders to treat high moisture-dredged sediments, as low-carbon and low-cost liquefied stabilized backfill materials.</p> Conclusion <p>This review provides an efficient evaluation tool for chronicling the developmental trajectory and emerging trends in the literature of sediment waste recycling. Its insights are invaluable for helping researchers capture a holistic picture of the current state of sediment waste recycling research, and provide an informative guide for future explorations and policy-making in this scientific field.</p>