As the world actively responds to the challenge of climate change, there is a global consensus on the need to develop climate investment and financing. Within the framework of climate change, the theory of climate finance has emerged as a new interdisciplinary field that examines the relationship between climate change and financial activities. This paper provides a systemic definition of the concept and scope of climate finance, and presents a summary of the latest research progress in this field through bibliometric analysis. Additionally, this paper outlines the theoretical and practical advancements of climate finance in China, considering aspects such as funding support, academic organization development and industry investment and financing activities. Finally, the paper concludes by discussing the theoretical frontier and potential application scenarios of the future development of climate finance discipline.