Objective Describe the landscape of tobacco-related topics, funders and institutional networks in Africa.

Data sources We searched PubMed, Embase and African Index Medicus for published articles from January 1996 to August 2018 in any language.

Study selection Two researchers independently reviewed titles and abstracts for a focus on nicotine or tobacco product(s) and describe data or recommendations specific to Africa. Ultimately, 818 articles were identified.

Data extraction Three independent coders conducted qualitative analyses of articles and extracted funders, study populations, countries of research focus, research topics, tobacco products, study design and data source. A bibliometric analysis estimated coauthorship networks between the countries of authors’ primary institutional affiliation.

Data synthesis All 54 African countries were represented in two or more articles. The coauthorship network included 2714 unique authors representing 90 countries. Most articles employed a cross-sectional study design with primary data collection, focused on cigarettes and studied use behaviour. Few articles examined tobacco farming or interventions for cessation or prevention. The most frequently cited funder was the US National Institutes of Health (27.2%). A range of coauthorship patterns existed between African institutions with some coauthoring with one institution while others coauthored with 761 institutions in other African countries.

Conclusions The literature review identified the need for implementation research for tobacco control interventions and policies, economic and development impacts of tobacco use research, and tobacco industry and tobacco production and farming research. Numbers of research collaborations between institutions in Africa vary, suggesting the need for regional institutional capacity building.