Abstract: In recent ten years，domestic scholars have made abundant achievements for their consistent devotion to social work research. In order to promote the sustainable development of social work research，it is necessary to sort out the research and development background. Social work research knowledge graphs are made after a quantitative analysis，using Citespace software，of 2，373 research papers in the core journals of CNKI full-text database and CSSCI source journals. They show that in different historical periods this research field had different characteristics，shifting from introductory papers in the early stage to foci on social work practice，cultivation of social work talents，and social governance innovation in the following stages. According to the keyword clustering and time zone distribution map，social work research hot spots concentrate on the important methods，practice，vital tasks，and service platforms of social work.The mutation intensity map of highlight keywords has indicated the forefront and future development tendency of social work research. The first is to consolidate the theoretical basis and promote interdisciplinary and cross-region social work research；the second is to develop internal resources and promote the localization of social work；the third is to innovate social governance and establish a multisubject interaction and joint action mechanism；and the fourth is to strengthen the building of talent team and improve the specialization and professionalization level of social work.

Key words: social work, social work practice, localization of social work, innovating social governance, visual analysis, Citespace