This paper explored the development context and research hotspots of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis in China in the past two decades. Based on the data source of 1 485 related research literature on coal workers’ pneumoconiosis collected from CNKI，CiteSpace was used to draw a visualized knowledge map of authors， publishing organizations， keywords， and relevant literature were reviewed. The results showed that since 2000， the number of publications on coal workers’ pneumoconiosis had increased first and then decreased， and related research was entering a cooling period. The research hotspots were pathogenesis， treatment， diagnosis， and epidemiological research. Based on the research hotspots and development context of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis research， it is recommended to continue to strengthen the research on the pathogenesis and diagnosis and treatment of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. At the same time， based on the actual life of patients， we are committed to improve the quality of life of patients in an all?round and full?cycle way.