Objective. To perform a modern bibliometric analysis of the research based on the Roy Adaptation Model, a founding nursing model proposed by Sor Callista Roy in the1970s. Method. A descriptive and longitudinal study. We used information from the two dominant scientific databases, Web Of Science and SCOPUS. We obtained 137 publications from the Core Collection of WoS, and 338 publications from SCOPUS. We conducted our analysis using the software Bibliometrix, an R-package specialized in creating bibliometric analyses from a perspective of descriptive statistics and network analysis, including co-citation, co-keyword occurrence and collaboration networks. Results. Our quantitative results show the main actors around the research based on the model and the founding literature or references on which this research was based. We analyze the main keywords and how they are linked. Furthermore, we present the most prolific authors both in number of publications and in centrality in the network of coauthors. We present the most central institutions in the global network of collaboration. Conclusions. We highlight the relevance of this theoretical model in nursing and detail its evolution. The United States is the dominant country in production of documents on the topic, and the University of Massachusetts Boston and Boston College are the most influential institutions. The network of collaboration also describes clusters in Mexico, Turkey and Spain. Our findings are useful to acquire a general vision of the field.