Objective This aim of this review was to clarify the role of neutrophils in diabetes by summarizing the characterization studies, potential trends, and research hotspots relating to neutrophils in the diabetes research field. Methods 2998 relevant studies on neutrophils in the diabetes research field indexed in Web of Science from 2010 to 2023 were retrieved, and a visual analysis of the relevant literature was conducted using CiteSpace 6. 1. R6. Results Since 2012, the number of publications on this topic has grown rapidly. Bayat Mohammad, Liu Tong, Amini Abdollah, and Zhang Rui are high-yield authors, with seven related articles published. China and Shanghai Jiao Tong University are the country and institution with the most published papers. The most influential journal in this field is “Nature Medicine”.Literature co-citation analysis of topics related to diabetes showed that the greatest focus is currently on “extracellular trap” and “ COVID-19 patient ”. Co-occurrence analysis, clustering analysis, and keyword burst analysis indicated that “lymphocyte ratio” (13. 08) and “ neutrophil extracellular trap” ( 7. 2) are the most researched topics in the field of neutrophils and diabetes. Literature in this field mainly focuses on “ myocardial infarction”, “ endothelial”, “ oxidative stress”, and “ apoptosis”. Conclusions This article highlights the evolving trends in research into neutrophils in the diabetes field using CiteSpace, providing new insights for researchers aiming to conduct research in this area.