The aim of the research was to investigate how the field of cross-border Chinese higher education has developed from 1990 to 2015. Ninety-five articles in international journals and 470 articles in national journals were collected and analyzed in terms of authorship pattern, thematic clusters, and research methods. Results show that cross-border Chinese higher education has become an important topic in both the international and national academic community. In general, researchers from Mainland China and Hong Kong have dominated the field. Articles covering overviews, trends, and policy issues constituted the largest proportion of the total literature. However, students' experiences as a research focus is underrepresented in the current literature. The methods of document analysis and case study are used widely by the researchers. To see growth in the field, more collaboration between national researchers and international scholars is needed; so too are more empirical studies at the microlevel, particularly the experiences of students and teachers; and finally, more diversified and intensive research methods, for example longitudinal or ethnographic study, are suggested.