ObjectiveTo analyze the application status of Kanban management in medical service management at home and abroad and to provide a reference for lean medical management practice in China.MethodsUsing the bibliometric method, in China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, CQVIP Journal Database, Springer Link, Embase and PubMed, we used “Kanban” and “Kanban management” as Chinese search terms, “Kanban system” and “two-bin system” as English search terms to search for literature published from 2009 to 2019. The number of articles published, institutions, authors, citation frequencies, key words, Kanban usage, and improved areas where Kanban was applied in were statistically described and analyzed.ResultsA total of 219 articles were retrieved. Of the 14 articles included in the study, 12 articles were published from 2015 to 2019, 8 articles were published by hospitals, and 9 articles were cited more than or equal to 3 times. The key words were basically the combinations of Kanban and related topics in the field of medical service management, such as quality control and improvement, ward service, high-quality care and process evaluation; 11 articles used Kanban alone. Kanban was used in medicine supply chain management, ward bed management, and material inventory management abroad; and was used in medicine management, emergency room patient management, medical staff performance management, operating room equipment management, and high-quality medical service management in China.ConclusionsKanban as a lean management method was introduced into the domestic medical field late, and the current research development is not balanced. Asa visual management tool, Kanban needs to be extended in the medical field. As a lean improvement tool, Kanban has positive significance in improving medical quality and patient satisfaction. It is suggested that researchers should not be limited to the existing applied research, and can study the application of Kanban in different medical service fields in combination with different lean management tools according to the actual situation of the hospital.