Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence technologies have elevated the smart economy to an advanced form of the digital economy and a core engine for fostering new quality productive forces, drawing extensive academic attention. Existing research achievements from four dimensions: theoretical connotation, measurement methods, effect mechanisms, and governance challenges were systemqtically reviewed and commented on. In terms of connotation definition, academic understanding has evolved from mere technical application to the transformation of economic forms, forming a theoretical framework built on the tripartite collaboration of data, algorithms, and computing power as well as human-machine symbiosis. New concepts, including Token economy and embodied intelligence, have also emerged. In respect of measurement methods, the construction of comprehensive indicator systems has become the mainstream approach, which reveals the regional heterogeneity and convergence characteristics of the smart economy. As for effect mechanisms, existing studies have verified that the smart economy plays a vital role in boosting total factor productivity, advancing industrial upgrading, promoting the integration of the real economy and the digital economy, expanding consumption scenarios, restructuring employment patterns, and facilitating green development and regional coordination. In the field of governance, scholars have analyzed multiple challenges ranging from technological dependence to algorithmic risks and have put forward countermeasures such as enhancing institutional flexibility and building an agile governance framework. Finally, it points out the deficiencies of current research in theoretical construction, measurement techniques, and empirical depth. It also looks ahead to future research directions, including establishing an independent knowledge system for the smart economy with Chinese characteristics, conducting in-depth empirical research on micro mechanisms and macro effects, and strengthening systematic studies on governance risks and social impacts. It holds important theoretical value for clarifying the theoretical context of the smart economy, grasping its evolutionary laws. It also provides academic reference and policy insights for fostering new forms of the smart economy and cultivating new quality productive forces during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.