Clothing rental is a circular consumption model in the sharing economy and has attracted growing scholarly attention. This study retrieves 174 English-language articles on clothing rental, online clothing rental and subscription-based clothing rental from the Web of Science Core Collection. Using the Bibliometrix package in R, it analyses publication trends, journals, authors, countries and keywords. Output grew slowly from 2005 to 2012, steadily from 2013 to 2020 and rapidly after 2021. Sustainability and the Journal of Cleaner Production are the most prolific outlets, and the United States, China and the United Kingdom are the leading contributors. Research hotspots include consumer rental intention, perceived value and risk, ownership attitudes, business models, sustainability and digital technology. Together these findings offer a panoramic picture of clothing rental research and a reference point for future scholarship and industry practice.