Understanding the basic qualities of communication between emergency physicians (EPs) and patients could improve communication in the emergency department (ED). The objectives are to map the literature about the gaps in communication between EPs and patients in the ED, and make recommendations for further research. The articles were searched for using two-keyword combinations of the keywords joined by “AND”: “communication,”“patient,”“emergency physician,”“emergency department/emergency room/accident and emergency room.”through Pubmed, Scopus, and SocINDEX. Finally, seventeen articles were included. Five issues were found: patient-centered communication, information sharing, bad news delivery, shared decision making, and physicians’perspectives on communication. EPs’communication characteristics were doctor-driven decision making, focusing on efficient information gathering, immature communication techniques, and obstacles to overcoming miscommunication. Patients’ characteristics were active participation in medical encounters, expectation of physician as a reliable guide, understanding physicians’difficulties, and factors that contribute to understanding. Further research is required to consider diverse patient needs in the ED. Training programs for EPs to improve the quality of communication should be developed and implemented in line with our findings.