SUMMARY
The number of ELT PhD theses is growing every year and these are great sources to spot the leading research trends and the research gaps in the field. No previous study has missioned to make an investigation on PhD theses in Turkey to spot such findings, which is where the significance of this study lies. Therefore, the present research aims to fill this gap by examining 252 PhD theses published from 2010 to 2020. Content analysis was conducted on the titles and abstract parts of the PhD theses and then, coding was applied with the help of a priori codes suggested by the relevant literature. Findings have suggested that Teacher Professional Development and Language Skills are the leading research topics while Testing and Evaluation and Culture, Social, and Gender Issues are found to be under-researched in Turkey. The results have implied that Teacher Professional Development and Language Skills are research areas that need more improvement and under-researched topics show the gaps for researchers by implying the necessity for more research in certain areas.