In order to explore the research status, research hotspots and cutting-edge trends of folklore sports in China, and to provide theoretical support for the future development of folklore sports research. This paper applies CiteSpace software to 493 pieces of literature collected during the twenty years from 2004-2024 as the research object, and uses CiteSpace 6.3.R1 to statistically analyze and visualize the data of core authors, institutions, keywords and other data in different dimensions, and draws the following conclusions: (1) The number of folk sports research results has been relatively stable in recent years; (2) Most of the authors and institutions of folk sports research in China tend to conduct research independently, with relatively little cooperation; (3) The research hotspots are mainly focused on the three aspects of folk sports culture, the inheritance and development of folk sports, and the development and utilization of folk sports resources; (4) The research frontiers are mainly in the areas of “new era”, “Rural governance” and “Rural revitalization”.