OBJECTIVE： To investigate the present situation of domestic and foreign metabolomics study， and to preliminarily discuss research hotspots and development rules. METHODS： By using bibliometric methods and GoPubMed literature analysis tool， using “Metabolomics” as subject， all literatures were retrieved from PubMed database up to Jul. 31， 2016. Those literatures were ranked and analyzed in respects of publication amount， countries and cities， journal sources， research topics， core authors and authors collaborative networks. Using “Metabolomics” “Metabonomics” as subjects， all literatures were retrieved from Web of Science database up to Aug. 1， 2016. The literatures with high citation frequency were analyzed during 2007-2016 by using the sorting function of citation frequency. RESULTS： A total of 15 449 domestic and foreign metabolomics literatures were retrieved. The researchers of 2 189 literatures came from China， and the amount of published literatures showed a rising trend. 15 449 literatures were distributed in 129 countries and regions； 10 countries， such as the United States， China， Britain and Germany， were the core countries， and the total number of literatures issued was 12 847 （83.16％）. The United States held the largest share of world publications （4 288 literatures， 27.76％）， and the following was China in order （2 189 literatures， 14.17％）. The city with the largest amount of publications was London （467 literatures）， followed by Shanghai， Beijing. A total of 2 168 periodicals were involved， and there were 7.1 published literatures averagely. All of the top 20 periodicals were from the United States and European countries （4 377 literatures， 28.33％）. The first 3 subjects with the highest frequency of occurrence were metabolomics， metabolome and metabolism； related researches mainly focused on metabolic processes， metabolic networks and pathways， biological markers， proteome and genome； main research methods included spectrum analysis and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Main 6 groups of authors were involved， mainly Nicholoson JK， Holmes E， Lindon J and other researchers. None of Chinese researchers had been found among the core authors and author groups. The literatures with high citation frequency mainly focused on the association of metabolism with disease， metabolomics database， metabolomics research methods and biological markers related to disease prediction. CONCLUSIONS： Metabolomics has aroused worldwide interest among researchers， and metabolic pathways and biological markers are the focuses in this field. Our researchers have published a large amount of literatures on metabolomics， but there are not high quality periodical carrier or enough cooperation between researchers. It is suggested to enhance the cooperation between various research institutions or grasp the frontier and hotspots of the research in this field so as to push forward the development diversification and depth of metabolomics research in China.