The keywords of gene therapy were clustered by VOS Viewer to study gene therapy ethical research literature to explore research focuses in various periods. Theme evolution was analyzed by bibliometrix. Timeline of key research was further mined through core literature for in-depth interpretation of the theme evolution. The results indicated that ethical research on gene therapy could be categorized into three major groups: research & clinical application, genetics & reproduction, and society & regulation, among which efficacy and safety, mRNA vaccine for COVID-19, and mitochondrial replacement therapy were the research hotspots in recent years. Analysis of theme evolution revealed that "gene enhancement" had been a persistent academic concern since the early stage of technological development, and had gradually evolved into "eugenics" in recent years. With the development of biotechnology, the themes of "application of gene editing technology" and "informed consent" had also evolved.