<p>Natural fiber reinforced concrete offers a potential solution as a sustainable building material considering the environmental issues and the structural performance. This exhaustive survey report, based on 2015–2025, offers a bibliometric analysis regarding natural fiber reinforced concrete. Adopting a Boolean search strategy with Scopus database, a total of 392 peer-reviewed articles are scrutinized via VOSviewer network visualization to investigate overall research trends, international collaboration, and thematic evolvement. The bibliometrics analysis manifests that India and China are the leaders in research output and have well established collaborative networks with other countries in the Asia–Pacific and European regions. Time series analysis indicates a distinct shift from basic studies of mechanical properties during 2015–2018 towards more advanced studies in sustainable applications during 2022–2025. In total, five research clusters were identified: material characterisation, durability and performance, concrete science, specific fibre applications, as well as sustainability evaluation. Major results show that despite a thorough investigation of mechanical properties, fundamental research gaps such as long-term durability assessment, standardisation procedures and economic feasibility evaluation still remain. The review consolidates performance results for prominent fiber types such as jute, hemp, sisal, sugarcane bagasse, and rice husk, indicating best fiber content ranges of 0.5–2% (by volume) for improved tensile strength and crack reinforcement. Resulting research should aim to establish standardized testing methods, conduct full life cycle evaluations, and optimize region-based strategies for practical application in sustainable building materials.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>