Background and Aims Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a highly prevalent tumor worldwide, and chemotherapy resistance poses a significant challenge in its clinical treatment. Regulating autophagy in CRC can counteract tumor cell resistance to chemotherapy, making autophagy a prominent research focus in CRC studies. This study was conducted to investigate the global research trends and hotspots in the field of CRC autophagy from 2011 to 2023 through a bibliometric analysis, to provide a reference for identifying key research areas and future directions in this field.Methods Relevant literature on CRC autophagy was retrieved from the Web of Science database and exported in RefWorks format, including full records and citation references. The data was then imported into CiteSpace and VOSviewer software for visualization analysis of annual publications, countries, institutions, authors, journals, citation status, and keywords from 2011 to 2023 to identify research hotspots and trends in this field.Results A total of 1 758 papers were published between 2011 and 2023, showing an upward trend in publication volume. The top five countries in terms of publication volume were China, the United States, South Korea, Japan, and Italy. The top five institutions with the highest number of publications were Sun Yat-sen University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Fudan University, Southern Medical University, and China Medical University. The top five authors with the most publications were Zhou Shufeng, He Zhixu, Yang Yinxue, Zhou Zhiwei, and Zhang Xueji. The top five co-cited journals were Autophagy, Cancer Research, Cell, Journal of Biological Chemistry, and Nature. The most frequently cited study in CRC autophagy research is the 2008 work by Beth Levine and colleagues titled "Autophagy in the Pathogenesis of Disease". Research hotspots in the field included the relationship between CRC autophagy and treatment and prognosis, molecular mechanisms of CRC autophagy, and identifying targets for chemotherapy drugs by regulating CRC autophagy. Emerging trends in CRC autophagy research included the interactions between non-coding RNAs, intestinal microecology, the tumor microenvironment, and CRC autophagy.Conclusion The main research hotspots in CRC autophagy are the roles of related signaling pathways on the biological functions of CRC and the search for new drug targets to regulate CRC autophagy to improve treatment outcomes. Exploring the interactions between non-coding RNA, gut microbiota, the tumor microenvironment, and CRC autophagy is likely to become a future research trend.