Abstract: Family Language Planning（FLP）is gaining more and more attention in China，but there is not yet an essay tracing the evolution of its research methods. In the Web of Science database，two overseas journals claimed the top two places for publishing the most articles relative to the topic. They are the Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development and the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. A statistic study of the essays on the two publications can reveal the overall changing tendency of the FLP research methodology. The results show that theoretical reflection on FLP is not enough；the preciseness of quantitative researches has to be improved；the scientificity of qualitative study in data collection and analysis needs to be promoted；and that the diversification of research models should be more advocated.

Key words: family language planning（FLP）, language acquisition；language awareness, parent language, applied linguistics