Objective To analyze the literature distribution, research hotspots and development trends of continuing medical education in China through knowledge atlas, and to provide reference for related research. Methods Through the visualization software Citespacev5.7.R2, the relevant literature of continuing medical education research in databases such as CNKI was analyzed by using the methods of keyword co-occurrence network, centrality analysis, cluster analysis and emergent word analysis. Results A total of 3 470 studies were included, and the number of studies showed a fluctuating upward trend, with three peaks forming in 1990, 2000 and 2011 respectively. The analysis of cooperative network showed that the institutions with high publications mainly concentrated in the administrative authority of continuing medical education, Chinese Medical Association and some medical colleges and universities. Through high-frequency keyword cluster analysis, it is found that continuing medical education research mainly focuses on 10 research hotspots. The research topic has an evolutionary trend from shallow to deep, from concept and object to management and connotation quality. Conclusions The research of continuing medical education in China keeps up with the hot spot of The Times, and is developing to the direction of normalization, individualization and informatization.