<p>Regional expansion in Indonesia often aims for equitable development, but it leads to significant land conversion, particularly agricultural land, which impacts farmers’ livelihoods. This creates a contradiction between development goals and the sustainability of farmer households. This study addresses the gap in reviewing sustainable livelihood strategies for farmer households in newly expanded regions of Indonesia. The household is used as the unit of analysis, as it is the most relevant level for understanding livelihood decision-making in rural contexts. The study systematically maps the scientific landscape of approaches used to design farmer livelihood strategies in the context of regional expansion. Although empirically oriented toward Indonesia, the study contributes to global discourse on sustainable rural development. Using the RAPID framework, RStudio, and the bibliometrix package, this research conducts an efficient bibliometric analysis by identifying, assessing, exploring, and documenting key themes and patterns in the literature. It also contributes methodologically by recommending Scopus as the primary database for similar studies. The study highlights critical livelihood challenges in newly expanded areas, such as limited access to resources and markets. It identifies strategies and policy directions that support sustainable agricultural development and improve the well-being of smallholder farmers. This study is the first bibliometric analysis to systematically examine global research trends on sustainable livelihood strategies in the context of regional expansion. It offers a novel perspective by highlighting how decentralization and administrative restructuring are integrated into livelihood research—a dimension often overlooked in previous bibliometric studies.</p>