Purpose/SignificanceScientifically sorting out the researchand development of sports tourism is conductive to providing theoretical support for the development of sports tourism industry in China.

Method/ProcessBased on the CNKI database, the article uses the method of bibliometrics to analyze more than 2, 600research papers on sports tourism research in China from the annual distribution of research literature, authors and research institutions, research topics and content distribution, fund support and journals.

Result/ConclusionThe main front of sports tourism research in China is mainly composed of higher normal universities and sports colleges. Sports tourism is more concerned by scholars with sports background, while tourism and other disciplines are less interested in it. Current researches pay more attention to the industrial economic effects of sports tourism, with few studies on society and culture, etc., and there is a slight lack of research on sport tourism theory and method innovation. The depth and breadth of tourism research also needs to be strengthened. In the follow-up research process, the article suggests using multidisciplinary theories and methods to guide the study of sports tourism in order to enrich the research content of sports tourism.