This paper uses bibliometrics to methodically examine the pertinent literature on the teaching reform of civil engineering materials courses included in the CNKI database. It analyzes the annual publication, high-frequency keywords, and prominent words in order to better understand the research hotspots and trends in the teaching reform of civil engineering materials courses in recent years. The findings reveal an annual increase in the amount of literature on teaching reform for civil engineering materials courses, with an oscillating rising trend. Keywords like "teaching reform," "civil engineering," and "experimental teaching" have the highest frequency of occurrence and are the central nodes of other keywords when seen through the lenses of high-frequency keywords and keyword centrality. Keywords like "teaching methods," "innovation ability," "practical teaching," "curriculum ideology and politics," and "new engineering" are highly prevalent and central, suggesting that these topics are given a lot of consideration in the way that civil engineering materials courses are currently taught. The low citation frequency of "artificial intelligence" has led to recommendations for the future development of materials courses in civil engineering. The goal is to offer fresh perspectives for instructors of these courses.