To comprehend the resource value, research status, and developmental trends of Bethylidae insects, relevant literatures on Bethylidae insect research were searched in core database in Web of Science. Employing the R language bibliometric analysis program package bibliometric and the literature visualization and analysis software CiteSpace, we conducted bibliometric and knowledge mapping analyses in terms of temporal trend of literature outputs, the distribution of countries / regions and research institutes, journal distribution, temporal dynamics of keywords, and hotspots of research and developmental changes. The findings indicated a linear growth trend in research literature related to Bethylidae insects over the past two decades. The countries leading in the number of publications were Brazil, China, United States and the United Kingdom, where Brazil had the largest cumulative number of publications, followed by China. Major contributions had come from institutes including Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, United States Department of Agriculture, and Zhejiang University. The 317 retrieved papers primarily originated from renowned journals in the fields of Zoology and Entomology, including Zootaxa, Biological Control, Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, and Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology. The researches on Bethylidae had experienced a gradual diversification, where a considerable amount of researches had been carried out over a relatively long period of time on four key subject headings: biological control, new species identification, evolution, and behavior. Current hotspots in Bethylidae research encompassed phylogeny, Hymenoptera parasitic wasps, molecular systematics, and so on. Bethylidae insects had demonstrated significant value in integrated biological control and were poised for more in-depth studies, particularly in exploring molecular mechanisms. This overview provides a comprehensive depiction of the current research status and developmental trends of Bethylidae insects from the perspective of published papers, aiming to foster further exploration in this field and offer valuable insights to researchers.