The influence of law subject is showing a steady upward trend along with the progress of the rule of law in China in the last twenty years. In terms of geographical distribution, Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan are legal research center cities. In terms of subject distribution, civil and commercial law, constitutional and administrative law and procedural law are all popular subjects. In terms of restricted factors, the prosperity of legal research is related with economic development level and legal research output capacity. In terms of the development direction of legal research, "judicial reform", "implementation of the constitution", "legislation assessment" and "intellectual property protection" will be new theory growth points in the future. In terms of academic echelon, "1960 group" and "1970 group" will gradually become main forces of legal research in the future. In terms of the overall distribution pattern, the geographic advantages based on political dividends will gradually weaken.