| Abstract:Paper packaging is widely applied owing to its environmental advantages, and a systematic review of its research progress and trends is of great significance for industrial development. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of papers in the paper packaging field indexed by the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Web of Science (WOS) databases, covering the period from 2015 to 2025. The results show that the annual paper output in this field follows a linear growth trend, with the cumulative number of Chinese papers consistently exceeding that of Foreign-language papers. For research collaboration networks, Chinese studies have formed a localized cooperation network centered on Jiangnan University and mainly composed of universities specializing in light industry. In contrast, Foreign-language research features prominent transnational collaboration, with institutions such as Poznan University of Life Sciences serving as core hubs for international cooperation. Notably, China exhibits strong research capacity in this domain, with four Chinese universities ranking among the global top 10 in terms of Foreign-language paper output. Core research directions in this field focus on packaging mechanics and transportation reliability of corrugated/honeycomb paperboards and cartons. Green and low-carbon development and circular utilization represent mainstream trends, while fresh-keeping packaging acts as a vital subfield. Furthermore, Chinese research emphasizes packaging structural design and research and development of intelligent equipment, whereas Foreign-language studies concentrate on the functional modification of paper-based materials. Highly cited papers in the paper packaging field are dominated by review articles, and the per-paper citation count of highly cited foreign-language papers is significantly higher than that of their Chinese counterparts. Future efforts should focus on strengthening industry-university-research collaborative innovation, deepening the functional expansion and performance improvement of paper packaging, and accelerating the industrialization of existing technological achievements. This study can serve as a reference for subsequent research and industrial development in the field of paper packaging. |