Abstract
Tetracycline resistance genes (TRGs) in wastewater pose environmental and public health risks through antimicrobial resistance dissemination. However, the global development of wastewater surveillance for TRG monitoring remains insufficiently characterized. Scopus-indexed TRG wastewater surveillance research (2001-2025) was analyzed using bibliometric methods, yielding 700 articles after screening. Data were cleaned using biblioMagika® and OpenRefine, with VOSviewer used for keyword co-occurrence analysis. Temporal trends were assessed using the Mann-Kendall test, Sen's slope estimator, and Hamed-Rao correction for serial autocorrelation. Publication output increased significantly (τ = 0.891, P = 1.15 × 10-9; Sen's slope ≈ 3.84 publications/year) and remained significant after autocorrelation correction (N/N* ≈ 3.16, P = 6.16 × 10-4). China and the United States led publication output (370 and 99 publications, respectively), while publication volume was not significantly associated with normalized citation impact (r = 0.163, P = 0.436). Environmental science and microbiology dominated. Six thematic clusters centered on antibiotic resistance genes, horizontal gene transfer, metagenomics, and wastewater treatment. TRG wastewater surveillance research is expanding rapidly, highlighting the need for international collaboration, methodological standardization, and capacity building within a One Health framework.