The aim of the article is to analyze the current research progress of COVID-19 vaccines in China and abroad based on patent data, and to make statistics on the main types and hot technologies, so as to provide reasonable suggestions for future vaccine research and development. Innojoy patent search engine and Baiten patent network were used to retrieve and analyze the patent data, and technology prediction was made according to the concept model of technology prediction. At present, the research hotspots of COVID-19 vaccines are mainly distributed in the technical fields related to the use of antigens, antibodies, peptides and genetic engineering. The research on COVID-19 vaccines in China mostly focuses on recombinant protein/epitope/polypeptide/subunit vaccines and nucleic acid vaccines, and the technical hotspots focus on antigen improvement techniques. The current research in the field of COVID-19 vaccines in the world and in China has made some progress, making the patent market active. The COVID-19 vaccine-related market and technical structure tend to enter a more developed stage.