In this paper, the bibliometrics approach in conjunction with the Research Leadership Index (RLI) was used to compare and assess the scientific research performance and innovation level of the major producing nations of natural rubber on 12 Research Fronts. The Research Fronts of each nation were revealed to enter the innovation excellence position, innovation forefront position, and innovation rank position, as well as the status of innovation catching up position and innovation gap, from three major research areas of agriculture and plant science, ecology and environmental science, chemistry and material science. China has grown to be a significant player in global natural rubber research, with the highest RLI score globally. The United States comes in second with a score roughly 65% of that of China. France, Germany, Thailand, India, and Malaysia are ranked third through seventh, respectively, with France, Germany, and Thailand being in the same active cascade as India and Malaysia. The United States and France are currently in the innovation excellence position in the majority of the Research Fronts (more than 50.00%), while China has entered the position in 100% of the Research Fronts. There is a large Research Front gap between the countries of Germany, Thailand, India, Malaysia and the countries of China, the United States, and France. 16.67% of the Research Front in Germany, Thailand, India, and Malaysia is still in the innovation catching up stage. In all three of these lucrative industries, where China excels at invention, the country has taken the lead. The performance of the other six nations varies in several areas. In the fields of agriculture and plant science, Germany, Thailand and Malaysia, have taken the innovation leadership and ranked positions, respectively, while India is in the innovation catching up position. The United States and France have entered the innovation excellence position. While India lags behind, the United States and France fare better than Germany, Thailand, and Malaysia. The United States and Germany have taken the top spots for innovation and excellence in the field of ecological and environmental science. France, Thailand, India, and Malaysia are still lagging behind in terms of innovation. The performance of the United States and Germany is superior, whereas that of France, Thailand, India, and Malaysia is subpar. In the fields of chemistry and materials science, the innovative excellence position has been attained by 50.00% of the Research Front in the United States and France, 30.00% in Thailand and India, 20.00% in Germany, and 10.00% in Malaysia. In the United States and France, 50.00% of the Research Front has joined the innovation forefront position and the innovation rank position, while India is at 70.00%. At 60.00%, 50.00%, and 80.00%, respectively, Germany, Thailand, and Malaysia are in the innovation forefront position and innovation rank position, but 20.00%, 20.00%, and 10.00% of the Research Front are still in the innovation catching up position. The six nations perform fairly evenly in this regard, but the United States, France, and India outperform Germany, Thailand, and Malaysia by a small margin.