The research results and trends of China’s recreational behavior in the CNKI(Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure) database from 1994 to 2024 were analyzed by using CiteSpace. The results demonstrate that the number of articles published has undergone three distinct phases: the “budding period,” the “rapid growth period,” and the “fluctuating growth period.” The research results are grouped into three primary categories: recreational behavior and its influencing factors, utilization of recreational resources and protection and development, and the behavior of open space. The key topics in this field are recreational behavior, the elderly, open space, and urban parks. The research hotspots in this field are open space, leisure behavior, the elderly, open space, and urban parks. The research trends in this field are pocket parks, optimization strategies, landscape gardening, and parks and green spaces. In the future, it is suggested to deepen the theoretical system, improve the application of new technology and methods, and explore new perspectives of research.