This study presents a comprehensive review of cereal-legume intercropping using topic modelling to identify key research areas and gaps. The analysis of 4,732 papers from Web of Science and Scopus (up to September 2022) reveals an increasing trend in research on intercropping, with most studies originating from China. The most studied crops are maize and wheat, with soybean as the primary legume. However, underutilized crops like buckwheat and lupin receive less attention, despite their potential as intercropping partners. Yield and nitrogen fixation are the most commonly studied traits, while climate resilience, sustainability, and biodiversity are gaining interest. Ecosystem services, particularly regulating and provisioning services, are more studied than cultural services. The study highlights the importance of optimizing management practices and cultivar selection for underutilized crops. It also identifies the need for further research on species interactions, disease and pest management, and the additional benefits of intercropping systems. Topic modelling and text mining were used to analyze the literature, revealing 150 topics clustered into six major themes. These include crop-specific terms, traits studied, and potential advantages of intercropping. The results show that while yield remains the most studied trait, other aspects such as climate resilience and biodiversity are increasingly important. The study concludes that intercropping is gaining attention as a sustainable agricultural practice, but more research is needed to fully understand its potential. The use of topic modelling and text mining provides a valuable tool for efficiently analyzing large volumes of literature and identifying research gaps. However, the approach has limitations, including high sensitivity and low specificity, which may lead to the inclusion of irrelevant papers. Despite these challenges, the integration of bibliometric analysis, text mining, and topic modelling offers a powerful method for exploring intercropping research and identifying key areas for future investigation.This study presents a comprehensive review of cereal-legume intercropping using topic modelling to identify key research areas and gaps. The analysis of 4,732 papers from Web of Science and Scopus (up to September 2022) reveals an increasing trend in research on intercropping, with most studies originating from China. The most studied crops are maize and wheat, with soybean as the primary legume. However, underutilized crops like buckwheat and lupin receive less attention, despite their potential as intercropping partners. Yield and nitrogen fixation are the most commonly studied traits, while climate resilience, sustainability, and biodiversity are gaining interest. Ecosystem services, particularly regulating and provisioning services, are more studied than cultural services. The study highlights the importance of optimizing management practices and cultivar selection for underutilized crops. It also identifies the need for further research on species interactions, disease and pest management, and the additional benefits of intercropping systems. Topic modelling and text mining were used to analyze the literature, revealing 150 topics clustered into six major themes. These include crop-specific terms, traits studied, and potential advantages of intercropping. The results show that while yield remains the most studied trait, other aspects such as climate resilience and biodiversity are increasingly important. The study concludes that intercropping is gaining attention as a sustainable agricultural practice, but more research is needed to fully understand its potential. The use of topic modelling and text mining provides a valuable tool for efficiently analyzing large volumes of literature and identifying research gaps. However, the approach has limitations, including high sensitivity and low specificity, which may lead to the inclusion of irrelevant papers. Despite these challenges, the integration of bibliometric analysis, text mining, and topic modelling offers a powerful method for exploring intercropping research and identifying key areas for future investigation.