Shadow education has burgeoned into a global phenomenon, and over the last 30 years, a substantial body of literature has emerged to explore this trend. Drawing on bibliometric data from 377 articles retrieved from the Web of Science (WOS), this study investigates the evolving landscape of shadow education research. It examines historical publication trends through performance analysis, intellectual sources and evolving themes using co-citation analysis, complemented by co-word analysis. Major authors and collaboration dynamics are discerned through co-authorship analysis, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of collaborative networks. Additionally, the study constructs an evolution path for shadow education research published in journals, employing citation analysis supplemented by social network analysis methods. In conclusion, the study not only illuminates the historical trajectory of shadow education as a concept but also poses pertinent questions and offers recommendations for future research. Our research significantly contributes to the comprehension of how shadow education has evolved from a nascent concept into a global research discourse.