Abstract: BackgroundSoil moisture plays an important role in vegetation growth and ecosystem regulation, and has been widely concerned as an important factor in water balance and water cycle. Many scholars around the world have carried out relevant research on the influencing factors, processes and mechanisms of soil moisture changes. As a key factor affecting vegetation growth, it remains a critical focus in arid and semi-arid regions. From a vegetation restoration perspective, suboptimal restoration approaches may disrupt local ecological equilibrium. Particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, plant transpiration consumes substantial soil moisture, leading to excessive depletion in some areas. To elucidate the soil moisture-vegetation correlation, we synthesized existing literature and examined soil moisture response dynamics to vegetation, using China as an empirical case study. MethodsFrom a vegetation restoration perspective, we conducted bibliometric analysis on two literature corpora: (1) research articles addressing soil moisture response mechanisms to vegetation, and (2) 6,152 soil moisture studies retrieved from Web of Science. Analyses were conducted on annual publication volume, geographical distribution, and research hotspots using VOSviewer for keyword co-occurrence network mapping, publication trend visualization, and thematic clustering, thereby illuminating the field's intellectual structure and conceptual interconnections. ResultsSoil moisture dynamics are governed by multiple factors, particularly the balance between vegetation-driven moisture depletion via transpiration and precipitation recharge. In arid ecologically fragile regions, inappropriate vegetation restoration disrupts this equilibrium, triggering significant reductions in soil moisture. Soil moisture responses to vegetation exhibit distinct seasonal mechanisms: spring (water conservation), summer (infiltration and transpiration dominance), and autumn (primarily infiltration). These dynamic variations in soil moisture content are fundamental to ensuring long-term ecological sustainability. Globally, research foci encompass five domains: vegetation, soil moisture, rainfall-erosion-infiltration, spatial variation and climate change, which are carried out in typical regions around the world. The dynamic climate changes including variation of precipitation and surface temperature are worthy of more scientific attention in further studies based on monitoring data in typical regions where climatic features are distinct.ConclusionsBuilding on current publication trends in soil moisture research and the response processes of soil moisture to vegetation, integrated with prevailing research hotspots, future studies should prioritize dynamic climate variables (e.g., precipitation and surface temperature) in globally representative regions. Methodological innovation should enhance monitoring and estimation accuracy while incorporating parameters like litter accumulation, plant species diversity, biomass, and micro-topography. This approach elucidates spatially varied relationships between soil moisture and vegetation, thus providing guidance for optimizing vegetation restoration strategies in arid and semi-arid ecologically fragile regions.