Objective To provide reference and theoretical guidance for clinical treatment of knee osteoarthritis by using moxibustion on the basis of literature exploration. Methods Literature on moxibustion treatment of knee osteoarthritis in nearly 10 years was searched in Wanfang, VIP and CNKI database by unified retrieval method, and then effective literature was screened by inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria. The frequency of moxibustion use was counted, and the top 20 acupoints were analyzed and ranked by hierarchical clustering method. Results The first 20 acupoints were waixiyan, neixiyan, xuehai, Yanglingquan, Liangqiu, Zusanli, Weizhong, Yinlingquan, Heding, Chengshan, Ashi point, Futu, Sanyinjiao, Weiyang, Fengshi, xiyangguan, Chengfu, Taixi, Yinmen, Huantiao. Conclusion The main points selection rules of moxibustion in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis are taiyang bladder channel of foot, gall bladder meridian of foot-shaoyang, foot-yangming stomach meridian, spleen meridian of foot-taiyin and kidney meridian of foot-shaoyin. The characteristics of the selected points are mainly selected from the local points of the knee joint, while paying attention to the selection of specific points. The selected points are mainly five transport points and Xiahe points, while the yuan points, xi points and eight influential points are supplemented.