Bubble geometric shape and hydrodynamic behavior affect directly mass, momentum and heat transfer at the interfacial area in the bubbly flow regime. A numerical model is developed to calculate instantaneous bubble interfacial area based on the VOF method. After data fitting, a new correlation is developed to associate the normalized bubble interfacial area with Eötvös and Galilei numbers. Considering the variation in liquid viscosity and surface tension of different gas–liquid systems, the influence of interface sharpening schemes on bubble hydrodynamics is illustrated comprehensively. With a moving reference frame, long-term bubble behavior is investigated in the air–water system and the temporal evolution of bubble hydrodynamics is analyzed in detail. Simulation results are validated by experimental data in terms of bubble rising velocity, aspect ratio and bubble deformation factor. The results indicated that the interface sharpening scheme affects the calculation of bubble interfacial area significantly. Both liquid viscosity and surface tension contribute to the formation of a stable terminal bubble interface. In the given range, the evolution of terminal interfacial area is found to agree well with the predicted correlation. Regarding long-term bubble behavior, three stages for instantaneous rising velocity and bubble interfacial area are observed, which are the damped oscillatory stage, the transition stage and the quasi-stable stage. Bubble deflection direction may be opposite to internal gas jet direction due to vortex shedding. In general, the numerical models applied in this study are proven to be feasible for bubble interfacial area calculation.