Significance Mires serve as the fundamental environment for coal deposition throughout geological history， offering invaluable insights into Earth’s history， palaeoclimate and environmental evolution， and they are also significant with regards to the global carbon cycle. Numerous geological scholars have conducted a wealth of research on mires. Understanding the research fronts and trends in mire-related studies within coal geology can guide future research. When writing research papers and using professional terminology， scholars may confuse or misuse terminology due to the diverse concepts and English expressions of mires， thus making it particularly crucial to clarify and accurately apply mire-related terminology. Progress Based on data from the Web of Science， common English terms related to “mire” were used as search keywords. A PRISMA flowchart was used to screen out 7479 relevant articles which focused investigations into the temporal evolution and international distribution of mire research in the field of geology. This was further examined using VOSviewer 1.6.20 to conduct keyword co-occurrence analysis on 726 research papers focused on mires in coal geology （selected from the 7479 screened articles）. Subsequently， by integrating English definitions of mire-related terms with studies on mires in coal geology， suggestions are offered for simplifying the application of mire-related terminology. Conclusions （1） From 1943 to 2023， a total of 123 nations and regions worldwide participated in mire research， with the year 2000 marking a significant turning point when mire studies gained momentum and became a subject for detailed discussion. Since then， the number of research publications on mires in geology has generally exhibited an upward trend， with scholars from leading research countries engaging in frequent exchanges and academic discussion. Usage frequencies of English mire-related terminology vary between countries， reflecting particular research emphases on different mire types. （2） By integrating meta-analysis， bibliometrics and visualization techniques， research on mires in the field of coal geology is systematically reviewed and summarized. Research themes linked to the topic include coal depositional environments and their evolution， palaeowildfire， atmospheric deposition， carbon accumulation， palaeoclimate and palaeoecology. （3） “Mire” should be considered as a general term for mire-related concepts. When there is a need to emphasize the spatial distribution of mires， “fen” is an appropriate term for low-lying mire， and “bog” should be used instead of “mire” for raised mires. When the ecological or vegetative characteristics of mires need to be highlighted in research， it is recommended to use the words “swamp” or “marsh”. ［Prospects］ The results offer valuable insights for understanding the deve-lopmental trajectory of international mire research， identifying research fronts of mires in coal geology， and standardizing the application of mire-related terminology in English. Future research on mires in the field of coal geology should actively and effectively utilize big data or machine learning techniques （e.g.， simulation modeling， database construction， statistical data analysis， and image recognition classification）. Additionally， a multidisciplinary approach integrating geochemical， organic petrological， coal petrological， and mineralogical methods should be systematically employed throughout the research process to ensure comprehensive insights.