Abstract: Regional organizations around the world always cite regional governance and living resources conservation in the Southern Ocean as exemplars. Therefore, researchers worldwide have been interested in Antarctic Marine Protected Areas (AMPAs) since AMPAs were first proposed. Using the Web of Science Core Collection, and combining the relevant data from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), this study identified publications related to AMPAs to gain a comprehensive understanding of the status and priorities of AMPA research. We conducted bibliometric analysis of research published after 1995. Our results show rapid increase in number of publications related to AMPAs and dominance of interdisciplinary studies since 2015. Antarctic Marine Protected Area research has been mainly published in marine or biological journals. Countries active in AMPA research include Australia, the United States and others. Cluster analysis indicates eight main research topics: ecosystem management, landscape mapping, long-term management, spatial distribution, potential effects, marine biodiversity conservation, precautionary spatial protection, and ice-free area. The main research themes are management, environmental science and ecology, and computer information technology. Mutation analysis shows that the frontiers of AMPA research lie in the integration of management and AMPA issues, environmental science and ecology research, and computer information technology and multi-year scientific research data. China's AMPA research has been mainly focused on legal aspects. To contribute Chinese wisdom and support to the promotion of AMPAs, China’s future research needs to further align with international research priorities.