The evolution of poliomyelitis (polio) research, an acute viral infection predominantly affecting children and ranging from mild illness to disabling paralysis, was systematically evaluated through a bibliometric analysis of publications from 1857 to 2019. Six thousand one hundred thirty-nine polio-related publications were extracted from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, employing 'Polio' as the keyword. Publications were predominantly in article format (71.16%), with English-language documents constituting 30% of the dataset. The analysis, executed using EndNote, Microsoft Excel, R (Biblioshiny), and VOSviewer, identified 2014 as the peak year of polio literature output, featuring 340 publications. A shift from single to collaborative authorship was observed, with multiple authorship patterns emerging more prominently. This trend highlights a transition towards interdisciplinary collaboration in the field. Despite the dominance of articles, a diverse array of sixteen document types was catalogued. The journal 'Vaccine' was the pivotal publication venue, representing a nexus for polio-related discourse. The institutional analysis placed the World Health Organization at the epicenter of polio research, with universities and private research entities following suit. The geographical spread of contributions was vast, covering 114 regions. Nonetheless, a significant proportion of the literature (33.5%) remained uncited, suggesting an untapped potential for research impact. Citation analysis yielded an average citation rate of 9.52%, and cocitation analysis unveiled a network of 4,758 references despite incomplete citation data in several records. Visualization maps elucidated recurrent thematic terms such as 'polio ', 'children', 'eradication', 'vaccine', and 'virus', indicating the focal points of scholarly communication. This study not only delineates the historiography of polio research but also underscores the necessity for enhanced dissemination and integration of findings to fortify the global health response to poliomyelitis.