Objective To study the current research and future focus of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for pain treatment. Methods We retrieved the literatures on TENS for pain treatment from Jan. 1, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2022 from CNKI and Web of Science, and Bibliometrix package in R language and the VOSviewer software in Java language were used to analyze the literatures, identifying the current research and future focus on TENS for pain treatment. Results A total of 143 articles in Chinese and 769 articles in English were included in this study, and both showed an increasing trend from 2013 to 2022; the highest citation for Chinese article was 130 and the highest for English article was 235. Total frequency analysis of keywords of English literatures showed that effectiveness and mechanism research were the research focus. The frequency analysis of keywords over years showed that brain-stem, prevention, and shoulder pain were the most frequent keywords in 2021. The strategic coordinate map results showed 2 major future development directions: (1) postoperative pain, analgesia, and opioid receptors, and (2) neuropathic pain, spinal cord, and activation. Total frequency analysis of keywords of Chinese literatures showed that transcutaneous nerve electrical stimulation, pain, analgesia, labor analgesia, and transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation were the research focuses. Conclusion TENS therapy for pain is gradually gaining popularity, with a focus on the clinical effectiveness and mechanisms of various types of pain. Future research may focus on further need to anisms study of opioid receptors and spinal cord.