Background In recent years, with the development of computer science and medical science, virtual reality (VR) technology has become a promising tool for improving cognitive function. Research on VR-based cognitive training has garnered increasing attention. Objective This study aimed to investigate the application status, research hot spots, and emerging trends of VR in cognitive rehabilitation over the past 20 years. Methods Articles on VR-based cognitive rehabilitation from 2001 to 2021 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace software was used for the visual analysis of authors and countries or regions, and Scimago Graphica software was used for the geographic visualization of published countries or regions. Keywords were clustered using the gCLUTO software. Results A total of 1259 papers were included. In recent years, research on the application of VR in cognitive rehabilitation has been widely conducted, and the annual publication of relevant literature has shown a positive trend. The main research areas include neuroscience and neurology, psychology, computer science, and rehabilitation. The United States ranked first with 328 papers, and Italy ranked second with 140 papers. Giuseppe Riva, an Italian academic, was the most prolific author with 29 publications. The most frequently cited reference was “Using Reality to Characterize Episodic Memory Profiles in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease: Influence of Active and Passive Encoding.” The most common keywords used by researchers include “virtual reality,” “cognition,” “rehabilitation,” “performance,” and “older adult.” The largest source of research funding is from the public sector in the United States. Conclusions The bibliometric analysis provided an overview of the application of VR in cognitive rehabilitation. VR-based cognitive rehabilitation can be integrated into multiple disciplines. We conclude that, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the development of VR-based telerehabilitation is crucial, and there are still many problems that need to be addressed, such as the lack of consensus on treatment methods and the existence of safety hazards.

BACKGROUND In recent year, with the development of computer science and medical science, virtual reality (VR) technology has been regarded as a promising tool to improve cognitive function. Research on VR-based cognitive training has gained more and more attention. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the application status, research hotspots, and emerging trends of VR in cognitive rehabilitation in the past 20 years. METHODS Articles on the application of VR in cognitive rehabilitation from 2001 to 2021 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace software was used for visual analysis of authors and countries/regions, and Scimago Graphica software was used for the geographic visualization of published countries/regions. Keywords were clustered by gCLUTO software. RESULTS A total of 1,259 papers were included. In recent years, research on the application of VR in cognitive rehabilitation has been continuously hot, and the annual publication of relevant literature has shown a positive trend. The United States ranked first with 328 papers, and Italy ranked second with 140 papers. Giuseppe Riva, an Italian academic, was the most prolific author with 29 publications. The most frequently cited reference was Using Virtual Reality to Characterize Episodic Memory Profiles in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease: Influence of Active and Passive Encoding. The most common keywords used by researchers include virtual reality, cognition, rehabilitation, performance, and older adult. The largest amount of research was funded by the European Commission. CONCLUSIONS The studies on the application of VR in cognitive rehabilitation have maintained an increasing trend, with research hotspots focusing on stroke, Alzheimer's disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The cooperation among authors and countries has been carried out to a certain extent. Remote rehabilitation based on VR will likely become the focus of future research. To achieve the wide application of virtual reality technology, we should pay attention to the requirements of patients, strengthen multidisciplinary cooperation, increase the fund investment, perfect the incentive mechanism.