Objective To analyze the hotspots and development trends in the research field of tumor cell apoptosis and autophagy. Methods Relevant literature on tumor apoptosis and autophagy published between January 2012 and December 2021 were searched through the Web of Science core collection database, and CiteSpace 5.8.R3 software and VOSviewer version 1.6.10 software were used to analyze the country/region, institution, keywords and citation node information of the literature. Results A total of 6716 foreign-language articles were included in the study after searching and screening, and the number of papers showed a linear upward trend year by year. China published the largest number of articles and cooperated closely with other research institutions, but there were not many high-quality and influential articles. The two journals Autophagy and Cell were more authoritative in the field of tumor apoptosis and autophagy research. The signaling pathways and related proteins of apoptosis and autophagy, and the study of tumor suppressor mechanisms based on apoptosis/autophagy were current research hot topics. The migration, apoptosis and epithelial mesenchymal transformation of cancer cells would be the research focus and direction in the future. Conclusions In the past 10 years, the research on tumor apoptosis and autophagy has continued to develop. With the in-depth research on the molecular level, the study of its mechanism is expected to further reveal the mystery of tumor apoptosis and autophagy.