To enhance China's work safety governance, policy texts related to work safety were analyzed using text analysis and coding methods, aiming to provide an in-depth understanding of the current policy system and to identify existing gaps in China's safety governance policies. Based on Duxiu database and the website of the Central People's Government, 80 policy texts issued between 1949 and 2024 were selected. NVivo 12 plus software was used to conduct coding analysis, which was then employed to summarize the distribution and usage of policy tools in China's work safety governance. The research show that China's work safety governance policies employ a comprehensive set of policy tools. They exhibit a development pattern centered on pre-accident prevention, supported by talents and technology, and complemented by coordinated measures during and after accidents. At the same time, the current policy structure is still unbalanced. Policy tools play a prominent role, while enabling and incentive tools are insufficient. The integration degree of policy tools with governance logic elements is low, affecting the overall effectiveness of governance. In the future, it is necessary to promote the optimization of policy tool structure, balance the distribution of governance elements, and strengthen the deep integration of policies and elements to enhance the level of work safety governance.