Digital financial inclusion has emerged as a crucial instrument for fostering technological innovation in businesses. However, systematic literature review in this area is still relatively limited. Based on CiteSpace software, this study systematically combed 116 related literatures on digital financial inclusion and enterprise innovation during 2021-2025, aiming to reveal the research hotspots, knowledge structure, and evolutionary trends. Keyword co-occurrence analysis indicates that “digital financial inclusion,” “technological innovation,” and “financing constraints” are the core themes of the research network, reflecting the academic community’s profound comprehension of the impact of digital financial inclusion on the technological innovation capacity of enterprises. Cluster analyses further reveal the three main directions of the research, including the direct impact of digital financial inclusion on enterprise innovation, the support of green technological innovation, and the enhancement of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises’ innovation capacity. Timeline and emergent analyses demonstrate the dynamic development process of the research themes from the construction of basic theories to practical applications, especially the outstanding performance in green development and technology-deepening applications in recent years. The findings suggest that the role of digital financial inclusion in enterprise innovation shows unique manifestations in different fields and different enterprise sizes. At the same time, future research in this area should pay more attention to its long-term effects, including how to promote enterprise technological innovation to achieve sustainable development.