In the early 2000s, the expectations about bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria (LABs) were aimed at food applications. However, the effectiveness of bacteriocins against undesirable micro-organisms opened endless possibilities for innovative research. In the present review, we collected a database including 429 published papers and 245 granted patents (from 2004 to 2015). Based on bibliometric analysis, the progress of bacteriocin research in the last 11 years was discussed in detail. It was found that 164 patents were granted in 2010–2015, which is equivalent to 60% in comparison with previous years (i.e. only 81 patents were granted in 2004–2009). Currently, the research on bacteriocins is still gaining importance. In the realm of therapeutic strategies, about a 37% of the published research was focused on biomedical applications in the last decade. This vein of research is currently seeking for alternative solutions to problems such as cancer, systemic infections, oral-care, vaginal infections, contraception and skincare. On the other hand, food preservation, bio-nanomaterial and veterinary applications represent 29%, 25% and 9%, respectively. All this technology is being applied and will surely grow in the future, since about 31% of the patents granted since 2004 are focused on the biomedical area, 29% on food preservation, 5% on veterinary use; whereas 13% and 16% correspond to patents granted on production–purification systems and recombinant proteins or molecular modifications in the producer strains. This review contributes to the analysis of recent LAB bacteriocin applications and their role in safety, quality and improvement of human health.