The study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of social entrepreneurship and its role in poverty alleviation, covering the period from 1998 to 2022. Utilizing VOS Viewer and R Studio, the analysis examines 461 articles from the Web of Science database. Key findings include a significant increase in research activity since 2009, with a 55% surge in output between 2021 and 2022. The Sustainability Journal and the Journal of Cleaner Production are the most productive sources, and prominent authors include Nina Kolleck, David Littlewood, and Diane Holt. The research highlights regional disparities, with South Asia and Africa showing lower research performance compared to regions like the UK, Spain, and the USA. Co-citation patterns reveal four main themes: dynamics of social entrepreneurship, sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems, social entrepreneurship for social innovation, and integrated sustainable entrepreneurship. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identifies emerging areas such as entrepreneurial development, higher education strategy reform, and inclusive growth. The study contributes to understanding the current state of research, its implications for society, and future research directions, providing valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners.The study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of social entrepreneurship and its role in poverty alleviation, covering the period from 1998 to 2022. Utilizing VOS Viewer and R Studio, the analysis examines 461 articles from the Web of Science database. Key findings include a significant increase in research activity since 2009, with a 55% surge in output between 2021 and 2022. The Sustainability Journal and the Journal of Cleaner Production are the most productive sources, and prominent authors include Nina Kolleck, David Littlewood, and Diane Holt. The research highlights regional disparities, with South Asia and Africa showing lower research performance compared to regions like the UK, Spain, and the USA. Co-citation patterns reveal four main themes: dynamics of social entrepreneurship, sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems, social entrepreneurship for social innovation, and integrated sustainable entrepreneurship. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identifies emerging areas such as entrepreneurial development, higher education strategy reform, and inclusive growth. The study contributes to understanding the current state of research, its implications for society, and future research directions, providing valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners.