Optimal reactive power dispatch (ORPD) plays a significant role in the control and smooth operation of the power system through the enhancement of the network’s reliability, security, and economic aspects. This paper presents a bibliometric and visual analysis of ORPD-related research articles extracted from the Web of Science (WoS) database from its inception to October 29, 2019. A total of 263 articles drawn from 166 journals, published between 1989 and 2019, were retrieved and analysed using Excel, HistCite, and VOSviewer visualisation software. The total number of citations for the 263 articles ranges from 0 to 297. The top three journals with the most significant number of ORPD publications were the International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems, Applied Soft Computing, and two journals qualified for the third place, IEEE Transaction on Power Systems and IET Generation Transmission and Distribution. The most active researcher is Provas Kumar Roy, with nine (9) articles from Kalyani Government Engineering College. The most trending/cited researcher is Yi Jia Cao, with 129 Total Local Citation Scores from Hunan University, Changsha. In terms of contribution by countries, India, China, Iran, and the United States were the most significant contributors with 27.8%, 20.9%, 11.8%, and 8% of the total articles, respectively. The top 5 most frequently used substantive keywords to identify the trending topic and research direction were Particle Swarm Optimisation, Genetic Algorithm, Gravitational Search Algorithm, Linear Programming, Evolutional Algorithm, and Hybrid Algorithm. This study provides a detailed outline and reveals the future research directions for both experienced and novice ORPD researchers to identify research topics, questions, and collaboration partners.