Background and Aims The feasibility and superiority of laparoscopic hepatectomy have been fully affirmed. In recent years, domestic scholars have carried out many complex laparoscopic hepatectomy, but there is still a lack of discussion on the overall research progress of laparoscopic hepatectomy. This study was conducted to analyze the publications, research hotspots and research trends in the field of laparoscopic liver surgery, and to provide reference for relevant personnel in this field to undertake the academic studies in laparoscopic liver resection.Methods The English literature on laparoscopic hepatectomy research (research article or review article), published from January 1, 1991 to December 31, 2021, was retrieved in the Web of Science database. The retrieved data were sorted by Excel software, and the basic profiles of annual number of publications, and the contributing countries/regions, journals, institutions and authors were obtained. Clustering analysis was visualized using the VOSviewer software, and then the maps of research hotspot and development trend were created.Results A total of 4 437 documents were returned after retrieval. The data showed that Japan was the leading country with the most publications (647 papers) in the field of laparoscopic hepatectomy, followed by China (617 papers) and the United States (523 papers). The top 3 productive authors of publications were Gayet Brice from the United States (70 papers), Han Ho Seong from the Republic of Korea (58 papers), and Wakabayashi Go from Japan (58 papers). The research hotspots in this field focused on the long-term efficacy of tumor patients, subsegmental resection of the liver, robotic surgery and improvement of surgical safety.Conclusion Laparoscopic hepatectomy has been widely used worldwide owing to its advantages of small trauma and rapid recovery. In the future, Chinese scholars should not only pay attentions to the research frontiers in this field, but also should actively carry out multi-center research projects.