BackgroundDengue remains a major public health problem in the Philippines, particularly in urban areas of the National Capital Region. Thematic mapping using geographic information systems complemented by spatial analysis such as cluster analysis and hot spot detection can provide useful information to guide preventive measures and control strategies against dengue. Hence, this study was aimed to describe the spatiotemporal distribution of dengue incidence and identify dengue hot spots bybarangayusing reported cases from Quezon City, the Philippines from 2010 to 2017.MethodsReported dengue case data atbarangaylevel from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2017 were obtained from the Quezon City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit. The annual incidence rate of dengue from 2010 to 2017, expressed as the total number of dengue cases per 10,000 population in each year, was calculated for eachbarangay. Thematic mapping, global cluster analysis, and hot spot analysis were performed using ArcGIS 10.3.1.ResultsThe number of reported dengue cases and their spatial distribution varied highly between years. Local clusters were evident during the study period. Eighteenbarangayswere identified as hot spots.ConclusionsConsidering the spatial heterogeneity and instability of hot spots in Quezon City across years, efforts towards the containment of dengue can be made more targeted, and efficient with the application of hot spot analysis in routine surveillance. This may be useful not only for the control of dengue but also for other diseases, and for public health planning, monitoring, and evaluation.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41182-023-00523-x.