<jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Purpose</jats:title><jats:p>This study investigates the application and scholarly impact of Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS), a bibliometric technique that identifies historically significant references in scientific fields. By analyzing RPYS citation trends and patterns using Scopus data, the study seeks to understand the frequency and disciplinary impact of RPYS, the document types that cite it most frequently and the defining characteristics of these publications.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Design/methodology/approach</jats:title><jats:p>A structured, four-step retrospective search strategy was used to compile a comprehensive dataset from Scopus. An initial keyword search identified relevant documents, which were refined and expanded by extracting and analyzing author keywords. An advanced search incorporated synonyms and variations of RPYS terms, yielding a final set of 448 documents. Data were analyzed using R Studio and visualization tools like VOSviewer and pyBibx to uncover patterns in RPYS usage across disciplines.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Findings</jats:title><jats:p>RPYS citations demonstrate exponential growth, with the number of citing publications doubling approximately every 2.5 years, surpassing general scientific literature growth rates. Review articles are identified as the most common document type referencing RPYS, with significant impacts in social sciences and decision sciences. Notably, China shows a lower-than-expected representation in RPYS citations. Five prominent research clusters are identified, including research mapping, clinical studies and citation analysis.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Practical implications</jats:title><jats:p>The findings reinforce RPYS as a valuable bibliometric tool for tracing the historical underpinnings of research fields, with implications for its use in interdisciplinary studies and knowledge management.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Originality/value</jats:title><jats:p>This study highlights RPYS’s potential as a bibliometric method, encouraging broader application in scientific research for its unique capability to reveal foundational literature and trends across disciplines.</jats:p></jats:sec>