Hướng nghiên cứu chính của ông là đại số giao hoán và ứng dụng trong hình học đại số.

Một số công trình tiêu biểu:

HD Nguyen, NV Trung, Depth functions of symbolic powers of homogeneous ideals, Inventiones mathematicae 218 (3), 2019, 779-827.

N Terai, NV Trung, Cohen–Macaulayness of large powers of Stanley–Reisner ideals, Advances in Mathematics 229 (2), 2012, 711-730.

J Herzog, T Hibi, NV Trung, Symbolic powers of monomial ideals and vertex cover algebras, Advances in Mathematics 210 (1), 2007, 304-322.

SD Cutkosky, J Herzog, NV Trung, Asymptotic behaviour of the Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity, Compositio Mathematica 118 (3), 1999, 243-261.

NV Trung, Reduction exponent and degree bound for the defining equations of graded rings, Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society, 1999, 229-236.

N Trung, The Castelnuovo regularity of the Rees algebra and the associated graded ring, Transactions of the American Mathematical Society 350 (7), 1998, 2813-2832.

W Bruns, J Gubeladze, NV Trung, Normal polytopes, triangulations, and Koszul algebras, Journal fur die reine und angewandte Mathematik 485, 1997, 123-160.

B Sturmfels, NV Trung, W Vogel, Bounds on degrees of projective schemes, Mathematische Annalen 302 (1), 1995, 417-432.

J Herzog, NV Trung, Gröbner bases and multiplicity of determinantal and Pfaffian ideals, Advances in Mathematics 96 (1), 1992, 1-37.

NV Trung, Toward a theory of generalized Cohen-Macaulay modules, Nagoya Mathematical Journal 102, 1986, 1-49.

NV Trung, LT Hoa, Affine semigroups and Cohen-Macaulay rings generated by monomials, Transactions of the American Mathematical Society 298 (1), 1986, 145-167.

P Schenzel, NV Trung, NT Cuong, Verallgemeinerte Cohen-Mavaulay‐Moduln, Mathematische Nachrichten 85 (1), 1978, 57-73.