Abstract: Objective To explore the research hotspot and contents of sports injury of anterior cruciate ligament. Methods The literatures about anterior cruciate ligament injury in Web of Science from 2009 to 2018 were searched. CiteSpace was used to map the network of country/area, institution, authors and key words. The hotspot of cruciate ligament injury in recent ten years was also reviewed.Results and Conclusion Totally, 1844 articles were included. The number of scientific research was increasing year by year; the United States had the highest number of papers. Research institutions were mainly composed of universities and medical institutions. There was a close cooperative relationship between high-yielding authors. The researchers mainly focused on the mechanism, prevention, rehabilitation treatment and so on. The research hotspot mainly included anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, neuromuscular training and return to sports. The injury rate of female was much higher than that of male. Safety education, neuromuscular training, warm-up activities such as FIFA 11+ contributed to the prevention of anterior cruciate ligament injury. Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction was a common treatment in athletes, which could effectively reduce secondary injury. Limb symmetry index was an effective basis for judging return to sports after operation.

Key words: anterior cruciate ligament, sports injury, hotspot