Abstract: Pipeline leakage detection technology based on acoustic wave method has become a research hotspot in recent years because of its advantages like high detection sensitivity, high positioning accuracy, and long-term service. The principle of leakage detection based on the acoustic wave method was expounded, the type and the number of published papers and keywords in this field from 2020 to 2021 was statistically analyzed with the bibliometric method, and the keywords co-occurrence was analyzed by visual analysis software VOSviewer. Then the research status of popular research directions and hot technology were reviewed, and the future development trend was prospected. The results show that the number of published papers in the field of pipeline leakage detection technology based on acoustic wave method is increasing year by year, and the generation mechanism of leakage acoustic wave, the acoustic wave transmission and attenuation characteristics, and the signal processing of leakage acoustic wave, were the three main research directions in this field. There are many signal processing methods, which have their own advantages and disadvantages, and the infrasonic signal has become a research hotspot because of its advantages, such as long transmission distance and small energy loss. In the future, research should be carried out on leakage detection of liquid pipeline under non-full condition, leakage detection of gas-liquid mixed phase pipeline and modeling of acoustic attenuation corresponding to these two working conditions.