The generation of rock mass disasters in underground engineering essentially arises from the disruption of the original three-dimensional stress equilibrium of the rock mass caused by excavation and other activities, leading to the redistribution of stress fields. During the excavation process, the engineering rock mass undergoes complex dynamic stress equilibrium processes involving loading and unloading. This equilibrium process promotes the nucleation, initiation, and propagation of pre-existing cracks in the surrounding rock, resulting in changes in the internal structure of the rock mass and a weakening of its strength. Eventually, this localized cracking extends to global failure. In order to understand the current status better and study the development trends in the study of crack propagation and evolution in defective rock, this study conducts a bibliometric analysis of 288 articles from the Web of Science Core Collection database using CiteSpace software (version 6.1.R4). The results indicate an increasing trend in the annual publication output, characterized by two phases of emergence and rapid development. The countries of China, the United States, and Iran have the highest publication output in this field. The most frequently cited journals include INT J ROCK MECH MIN, ENG FRACT MECH, and ROCK MECH ROCK ENG. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the current status and development trends in the research on the propagation and evolution of pre-existing cracks. This study enhances the comprehension of crucial aspects of crack propagation and evolution in rock materials with defects. Moreover, it opens up new possibilities for future investigations and holds promising implications for researchers and practitioners in the field.