Abstract: [Objective] The aim of the present study was to comprehensively understand the development status and evolution trend of research on grassland ecological protection compensation in China. [Method] Using the China National Knowledge Infrastructure （CNKI） database as the data source, literature searches were conducted under the themes of ′Grassland Ecological Protection Subsidy and Incentive Policy′, ′Grassland Ecological Subsidy and Incentive′, ′Grassland Ecological Compensation′ and ′Grassland Compensation′. The time span was limited to 2000-2022, and the search scope were the papers published in the journals indexed in Peking University Core Periodical Catalogue and Nanjing University Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index （CSSCI）. CiteSpace （6.2. R4） software was used to perform visualization analyses on the publication years, source journals, authors and hotspots based on the 301 selected literature in this research field. [Result] ① From the perspective of the current research status, the relevant published literature on grassland ecological protection compensation exhibited a fluctuating upward trend since 2007. Journal of Arid Land Resources and Environment, Chinese Journal of Grassland as well as Heilongjiang Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine were the top three journals in terms of publication volume. JIN Leshan, ZHOU Shengqiang and GONG Fang had the higher number of published articles, and all of them published 11 articles. Cooperative relationship among different authors mainly manifested as an institution-based group collaboration mode. Collaborations among different institutions had obvious regional characteristics. Connections among institutions across regions were minor and the collaborations was limited. ② From the perspective of the research hotspots, keywords were classified mainly in three categories. The first category was involved in the policy′s subsidy and incentive standards as well as the compensation objects, and the corresponding keywords included ′compensation mechanism′, ′incentive mechanism′, ′farmers and herdsmen′, ′herdsmen′, etc. The second category was associated with the design of policy evaluation index system. Currently, researchers mainly constructed evaluation systems from the aspects of ecological benefits, economic benefits and social benefits. The third category was related to the effectiveness of policy implementation. Some researchers evaluated the effectiveness of policy implementation from the perspective of herdsmen, while others evaluated that from the perspective of grassland ecology. ③ From the perspective of the research hotspots′ evolution trend, the initially emerged hotspots were ′grassland′, ′ecological compensation′, ′compensation mechanism′ and ′incentive mechanism′, focusing on exploring the manners in which compensate and reward were implemented. Before and after 2010, the research hotspots predominantly concentrated in analyzing the policy itself, with emphasis on identifying problems and providing suggestions. In recent years, the research hotspots gradually shifted to evaluating the effectiveness of policy implementation. [Conclusion] The research on grassland ecological protection compensation in China has received widespread attention from scholars. The corresponding research results can provide scientific research support and references for the implementation of the relevant policies.

Key words: grassland ecological protection compensation, grassland ecological protection subsidy and incentive policy, research progress, CiteSpace, frontier dynamics