Large language model research: Knowledge structure, thematic evolution, and future research agenda

The rise of large language models(LLMS) marks a structural transformation in knowledge production and the division of labor, fundamentally redefining how knowledge is created, disseminated, and applied. Despite explosive growth in LLM research and expanding technical applications, systematic integration of knowledge evolution patterns and theoretical synthesis remain underdeveloped.To address this gap, we conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 5372 publications retrieved from Web of Science, employing VOSviewer to map the field across three dimensions: knowledge foundations, thematic evolution, and application domains. Descriptive analysis of publication growth, disciplinary distribution, collaboration networks, and geographic diffusion delineates the landscape of LLMs research and traces pathways of knowledge generation and dissemination. Structural analysis through document co-citation, keyword co-occurrence, strategic diagrams, burst detection, and bibliographic coupling tracks the trajectory of research hotspots, revealing theoretical focal points and thematic shifts along structural, functional, and temporal dimensions.We systematically examine how LLMs are integrated into six application domains—basic science, engineering, business and economics, social sciences and humanities, healthcare, and intelligent systems—identifying key features and practical constraints, and formulating 18 frontier propositions from epistemological, methodological, and axiological perspectives. Finally, we adopt a political economy lens to explore how LLMs reshape productive forces, reconfigure relations of production, and challenge existing governance frameworks.This study advances understanding of the knowledge evolution and cross-domain enabling mechanisms of LLMs, offering theoretical guidance for grasping the dynamics of the current technological revolution and for improving intelligent social governance systems. JEL ： O30 Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights: General D80 Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty: General