Using knowledge mapping and bibliometric methods, this study delivers a systematic and holistic analysis of natural hydrogen research in China. We conduct a multidimensional review of 119 relevant publications from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) covering 2015 to 2025, to characterize the full research landscape, developmental trajectory, research hotspots, collaboration networks, and geographic distribution patterns. The findings show that 2023 marked the onset of explosive growth in China’s natural hydrogen research, fueled by a confluence of drivers: global energy transition pressures, national carbon neutrality policies, and rising recognition of white hydrogen (also called gold hydrogen) as a viable hydrogen energy resource. Research institutions follow a geographic pattern of concentrated core hubs alongside dispersed sites nationwide. Beijing has emerged as the central research hub due to its resource advantages, though clear regional imbalances remain. Four types of entities — universities, energy enterprises, seismological bureaus, and geological survey agencies (represented by Peking University and the PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development), have built a collaborative framework integrating government, industry, academia, research, and practical application. Author collaborations form a multi-center, multi-level structure. Core researchers including Jin Zhijun play a pivotal leading role, and the author collaboration network has expanded and grown increasingly sophisticated over time. The natural hydrogen research paradigm has undergone a fundamental shift: early work focused on trace hydrogen monitoring as a secondary diagnostic indicator, while modern research centers explicitly on its energy and resource value. Research priorities have shifted from early themes of soil gas, fault activity, and earthquake precursors to energy-focused topics such as serpentinization, water–rock interactions, and carbon neutrality. This transition reflects the field’s evolution from fragmented observational descriptions to the development of systematic hydrogen accumulation theory and exploration of engineering applications. Finally, we outline the potential and necessity of interdisciplinary, cross-sector natural hydrogen research. By benchmarking its research trajectory and technical framework against those of natural gas and helium, we propose establishing an interdisciplinary research system centered on the concept of “hydrogen system science”. 

基于知识图谱与文献计量学方法, 对中国天然氢气研究进行系统性全景剖析, 对2015至2025年中国知网119篇相关文献进行多维度解析, 揭示中国天然氢气研究的全景格局、发展脉络、研究热点、合作网络及地域分布特征。结果表明, 受全球能源转型压力、“碳中和”政策驱动以及将白氢(亦称金氢)作为潜在氢能等多种因素影响, 2023年成为我国天然氢气研究爆发式增长元年; 研究机构的分布呈现“核心区域集中、全国多点布局”的特点, 北京凭借资源优势成为研究核心, 但存在地域发展不均衡问题, 以北京大学和中国石油勘探开发研究院为代表的高校、企业、地震局和地质调查局四大类机构形成“政–产–学–研–用”的协同合作模式; 发文作者呈现“多中心、多层次”的合作模式, 金之钧等核心作者发挥关键引领作用, 作者合作网络随时间的推移而拓展并复杂化; 天然氢气研究范式已实现从早期的“痕量氢”监测和辅助属性到当前聚焦能源属性和资源属性的关键转型; 研究热点从早期的“土壤气–断层活动–地震前兆”转向“蛇纹石化–水岩反应–碳中和”等能源议题, 标志着天然氢气研究从碎片化现象的描述迈向系统性成藏理论的构建与工程应用的探索。最后论述了天然氢气跨学科跨领域研究的潜力和必要性, 并将其与天然气和氦气的研究历程和技术体系进行比对, 提出构建以“氢系统科学”为核心的跨学科研究体系。