Objective  To analyze the current situation and hot spots of researches on depression after traditional Chinese medicine treatment for breast cancer from January 2000 to February 2022, and to draw a visualized knowledge graph.

Methods  Relevant literatures on depression after traditional Chinese medicine treatment of breast cancer from January 2000 to February 2022 in databases such as CNKI and Wanfang were retrieved. CiteSpace 5.8. R1 was used to analyze the authors, institutions and keywords involved in the literatures, and a knowledge graph was drawn.

Results  A total of 325 literatures were included, and the number of literatures published in the field of traditional Chinese medicine treatment showed an upward trend from 2000 to 2019, and then followed by a decrease trend; the top four institutions with the highest number of published literatures were Longhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Mental Health Center Affiliated to Medical College of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Medical College of Shanghai Jiaotong University and Shanghai Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, with 23 published literatures for each institution; there were many research teams in this field, but there was a lack of communication and cooperation between teams in different regions; the authors with the highest number of published literatures were Cong Enchao and Yao Jialiang, both of them published 23 literatures, and they also came from the same collaborative group; the high-frequency keywords included breast cancer, Xiaoyao Powder, traditional Chinese medicine treatment and gynecological cancer, and multiple clusters were formed, including depression disorder, syndromes of traditional Chinese medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine treatment; in the context of medical big data, there were increases in meta-analysis of the therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine and literatures on the regulatory effects of traditional Chinese medicine on biochemical indicators such as endocrine hormones.

Conclusion  Knowledge graph analysis shows that the researches on depression after traditional Chinese medicine treatment for breast cancer is in a stable development stage from January 2000 to February 2022, and multiple research teams have been formed, but there is lack of cross-team and cross-regional cooperation; researches in this field is gradually shifting towards big data analysis of the therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine and the regulatory effect of traditional Chinese medicine on biochemical indicators.