Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent mental health conditions and are closely associated with early-life adversity. Although research on childhood adversity and anxiety disorders has expanded rapidly, the overall knowledge structure and emerging trends remain unclear. This bibliometric study systematically searched English-language publications from Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus and PubMed. Bibliometrix was used to analyze annual publication trends, countries, institutions, authors and journals. VOSviewer was applied to construct keyword co-occurrence and institutional collaboration networks, and CiteSpace was used to visualize thematic evolution and keyword bursts. A total of 4,481 eligible publications were included. The annual number of publications increased steadily since 2000, with marked acceleration after 2010. Research output and influence were mainly concentrated in the United States and Western Europe. High-frequency keywords included anxiety disorders, depression, childhood abuse, adverse childhood experiences and post-traumatic stress responses. Keyword analyses indicated a thematic shift from specific trauma types and diagnostic categories toward cumulative adversity, cross-diagnostic risk factors, emotional regulation, psychological resilience and symptom networks. This field has evolved from descriptive correlational studies to an interdisciplinary area integrating multilayered and mechanistic perspectives. Future studies should strengthen longitudinal designs, cross-cultural samples and multimodal data integration.