Research trends and translational prospects of CHI3L1 from 2000 to 2025: a bibliometric analysis

Objective Chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) is increasingly recognized as a key molecule connecting inflammation, tissue remodeling, and the tumor microenvironment. This bibliometric study aimed to characterize global research trends and hotspots of CHI3L1 from 2000 to 2025 and to describe the published clinical studies in which CHI3L1 has been examined. Methods Publications were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), Scopus, and PubMed. After deduplication and screening, 2,779 WoSCC records, 3,991 Scopus records, and 53 published clinical studies indexed in PubMed under clinical-trial publication types were included. VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and the bibliometrix package in R were used to analyze publication trends, collaboration networks, co-citation patterns, keyword clustering, and trend topics. The published clinical studies were classified by study design and by the role of CHI3L1 to describe how CHI3L1 has been examined in clinical research. Results CHI3L1-related publications showed a steady upward trend from 2000 to 2025. China had the highest publication output, whereas the United States showed stronger international collaboration. Citation and keyword analyses identified three main research directions: CHI3L1-associated fibrosis and multisystem disease monitoring; neurodegenerative diseases, neuroinflammation, and diagnostic or therapeutic monitoring; and the tumor microenvironment, angiogenesis, and prognostic assessment. Among the published clinical studies, CHI3L1 was more often measured alongside other markers than evaluated in its own right, and studies focusing on CHI3L1 mainly examined its diagnostic or prognostic associations; these studies do not establish its clinical utility. Conclusion This study maps the knowledge structure and hotspots of CHI3L1 research from 2000 to 2025. The field has expanded from molecular characterization to cross-disease mechanisms and clinical translational exploration. Existing evidence suggests that CHI3L1 may serve as a candidate biomarker and potential therapeutic target, but its clinical applicability requires further validation through standardized assays, longitudinal cohorts, multi-omics integration, and combined mechanistic–clinical studies.