BACKGROUND: This study aimed to analyze the scientific outputs of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) research and explore its hotspots and frontiers from 2000 to 2017, using bibliometric methods. METHODS: Articles in DKD research between 2000 and 2017 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). We used the VOSviewer 1.6.8 and CiteSpace 5.2 to analyze publication years, journals, countries, institutions, authors, references, and keywords. Keywords with citation bursts were used to analyze the research hotspots and emerging trends. RESULTS: We identified 27,577 publications in DKD research from 2000 to 2017. The annual publication number increased with time. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation published the highest number of articles. The United States was the most influential country with most publications and collaborations with other countries. Harvard University was the leading institute. Parving had the most cited publications. Keywords analysis indicated that the renin-angiotensin system inhibition used to be the most prevalent research topic, while recent research hotspots were podocyte, inflammation, and biomarker. The biomarkers for DKD screening, diagnosis, and prognosis could be a research frontier. CONCLUSIONS: The number of DKD related publications rapidly increased over the past 2 decades. Our study revealed the structure, hotspots, and evolution trends of DKD research. Further studies and more collaborations are needed.