This paper aims to identify research gaps within the field of online deliberation and suggest ways forward. Using citation analysis as a method for selection, 788 abstracts were retrieved, and from these 130 items were chosen for further analysis. The main conclusion is that the field still struggles with a highly diversified concept of deliberation and, as a consequence, incomparable studies. We also conclude that the scope of research in the non-institutional arena is narrow, that the field does not focus enough on the online deliberative citizen, and that there is limited focus upon questions related to policy connection. The review suggest four propositions that could lead the field forward; to focus more on the alternative online political forums and platforms, to focus more on institutional forums with a strong connection to policy making, to focus more on the notion of the ‘deliberative citizen’, and a strive towards more systematical, stringent and robust empirical studies.