[Objective] The international research situation, current research status, and trends in research hotspots in the field of gully erosion at home and abroad from 1991 to 2020 were analyzed, and the development trends of gully erosion measurement techniques and models were analyzed quantitatively in order to promote the in-depth development of gully erosion research and provide reference information for scholars in related fields.[Methods] We acquired 2 568 research papers dealing with gully erosion from the Web of Science from 1991 to 2020. We used a bibliometric analysis method and VOSviewer software to analyze the research situation of countries and institutions and the change trend of hotspots for gully erosion research.[Results] The number of papers published on gully erosion research presented an upward trend in the recent 30 years, and rose rapidly from 2011 to 2020. China (23.7% of papers) and the United States(20.8%) were the main countries conducting and publishing gully erosion research, with 44.5% of the word's publications, and close cooperation between the two countries. Among the top ten institutions conducting global gully erosion research, three institutions (the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northwest University of Agriculture and Forestry, and Beijing Normal University) were located in China. This field of research involved many disciplines, most of which were related to geology. Influencing factors, measurement techniques, and gully erosion research models were the main research focuses in the field of gully erosion. The impact factors of runoff, land use, vegetation, rainfall and soil had always been the focus of gully erosion research. The impact of climate change, especially extreme rainfall, received greater attention in recent years. High precision 3D stereo measurement technology gradually replaced 2D plane measurement technology, and was widely used. Empirical models were applied early and widely. Estimation models based on quantitative analysis began to be established after 2000, and this devlopment improved the accuracy of gully erosion monitoring and prediction.[Conclusion] Future gully erosion research should focus on the formation of gully erosion under extreme rainfall after vegetation restoration, interaction of different factors on the gully erosion process, development of new methods for gully erosion monitoring, and developing prediction models of gully erosion processes.