This study investigated the intellectual structure of women’s studies using bibliometric methods focusing on identifying research topics and influential publications. We analyzed 57,544 women’s studies papers published from 1975 to 2017 and explored the intellectual structure of the field based on the research keywords and cited references (CRs). Research keywords were used to identify major research topics and visualize the change in topics by period, while the CRs revealed works that have been influential in the field over many years and show the knowledge background of women’s studies. Based on the results of the analysis, major research topics of women’s studies were classified into six clusters: gendered experiences, sex role, gendered violence, health, sexual minorities, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Furthermore, the long-term changes to keyword overlay maps demonstrated that research on women’s studies entered the maturation stage in 2010, following its beginning in the 1990s and growth period in the 2000s, and the research topics have expanded from conventional issues like sex role and health to emerging issues like sexual minorities and STDs. Additionally, the knowledge background of women’s studies was identified through CR analysis. Therefore, scientific literature published since the 1990s and the publication medium of books have majorly impacted the field of women’s studies. Not only women’s studies itself but also social psychology studies constituted the intellectual structure of women’s studies. In particular, women’s studies CRs published in the 1990s have been influential to date, comprising the important knowledge background of the field.