Abstract: Eco-efficiency is an important index for evaluating the development of green economy. Improving eco-efficiency is an important way to promote the construction of ecological civilization. Based on 1 403 studies published on China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI) and Web of Science, bibliometric methods have been applied to analyze the research development and hotspots of eco-efficiency literature in China and foreign countries considering the external and internal characteristics. The results show that the study of eco-efficiency has been developing rapidly in the world, and in which research institutions and researchers in China played an important role. In addition, the research perspectives of eco-efficiency are diversified. The evaluation methods of eco-efficiency, the combination with life cycle assessment theory, the combination with ecological footprint theory, the combination with industrial ecology, and agricultural eco-efficiency are the five hot topics. There are also significant differences in research level, theoretical basis, and research method preferences between Chinese and English literature. This paper quantitatively summarizes and refines the core issues of eco-efficiency research, which has important reference value for future studies of eco-efficiency.

Key words: eco-efficiency, high-frequency keywords, hot topics, bibliometrics