BACKGROUND: This study discusses the development trends and current applications of digital droplet PCR technology in pathogen diagnostics. METHODS: A bibliometric analysis was conducted by retrieving droplet digital pcr related articles published between January 1,2012 to December31, 2023, from the Web of Science Core Collection. RESULTS: A total of 3,513 authors from 66 countries published 508 research papers across 203 academic institutions. The keyword clustering network shows that the main advantages of ddPCR are absolute quantification, high sensitivity, and high tolerance to PCR inhibitors. The keyword timeline shows that current research hotspots include continuous pathogen nucleic acid monitoring, trace sample detection, and resistance mutation identification. CONCLUSION: The application of ddPCR in pathogen diagnosis is expanding, offering key advantages in absolute quantification, high sensitivity, and inhibitor tolerance, meeting emerging needs in nucleic acid monitoring and resistance detection.