OBJECTIVE: To identify global research trends in the application of MRI for monitoring stem cell transplantation using a bibliometric analysis of Web of Science. DATA RETRIEVAL: We performed a bibliometric analysis of studies relating to the application of MRI for detecting stem cell transplantation for the treatment of cerebral ischemia using papers in Web of Science published from 2002 to 2011. SELECTION CRITERIA: The inclusion criteria were: (a) peer-reviewed articles on the application of MRI for detecting transplanted stem cells published and indexed in Web of Science; (b) year of publication between 2002 and 2011. Exclusion criteria were: (a) articles that required manual searching or telephone access; (b) some corrected papers.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: (1) Annual publication output; (2) distribution according to joals; (3) distribution according to institution; (4) distribution according to country; (5) top cited authors over the last 10 years.RESULTS: A total of 1 498 studies related to the application of MRI for monitoring stem cell transplantation appeared in Web of Science from 2002 to 2011, almost half of which were derived from American authors and institutes. The number of studies on the application of MRI for detecting stem cell transplantation has gradually increased over the past 10 years. Most papers on this topic appeared in Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. CONCLUSION: This analysis suggests that few experimental studies have been investigated the use of MRI for tracking SPIO-labeled human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells during the treatment of cerebral ischemia.