Knowledge Graphs Meet Graph Neural Networks: A Comprehensive Survey

Abstract: Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) have emerged as a powerful paradigm in Knowledge Graphs (KGs) due to their intrinsic ability to model graph-structured data. However, there remains a lack of a systematic review about GNN-based methodologies across the entire knowledge graph technologies pipeline. To address this gap, we first propose a novel two-level taxonomy framework for GNN-based knowledge graph technologies: the KG technologies pipeline and GNN-based perspective. Specifically, the knowledge graph technologies pipeline covers knowledge graph construction, knowledge graph embedding, knowledge reasoning and knowledge graph applications. Meanwhile, the GNN-based perspective provides a new categorization of knowledge graph technologies with GNN models, such as GCN, GAT, and HGNN. Then, we analyze the advantages of GNN technology based on the characteristics of different tasks in the knowledge graph lifecycle. Furthermore, we detailed review various GNN-based models for knowledge graph following the proposed taxonomy, and summarize strengths and limitations. Finally, we discuss unresolved challenges and outline promising directions for future research.

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Publication Details

Journal
ACM Computing Surveys
Published
2026-05-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1145/3814608
Primary Topic
Advanced Graph Neural Networks
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Knowledge Graphs Meet Graph Neural Networks: A Comprehensive Survey

Xiaobin Rui, Jiayun Tian, Philip Yu, Cheng Zhai et al.
ACM Computing Surveys
Advanced Graph Neural Networks
article

Knowledge Graphs Meet Graph Neural Networks: A Comprehensive Survey

Xiaobin Rui, Jiayun Tian, Philip Yu, Cheng Zhai, Yajie Song, Chengcheng Sun, Jian Zhang, Zhixiao Wang
article en

Abstract

Abstract: Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) have emerged as a powerful paradigm in Knowledge Graphs (KGs) due to their intrinsic ability to model graph-structured data. However, there remains a lack of a systematic review about GNN-based methodologies across the entire knowledge graph technologies pipeline. To address this gap, we first propose a novel two-level taxonomy framework for GNN-based knowledge graph technologies: the KG technologies pipeline and GNN-based perspective. Specifically, the knowledge graph technologies pipeline covers knowledge graph construction, knowledge graph embedding, knowledge reasoning and knowledge graph applications. Meanwhile, the GNN-based perspective provides a new categorization of knowledge graph technologies with GNN models, such as GCN, GAT, and HGNN. Then, we analyze the advantages of GNN technology based on the characteristics of different tasks in the knowledge graph lifecycle. Furthermore, we detailed review various GNN-based models for knowledge graph following the proposed taxonomy, and summarize strengths and limitations. Finally, we discuss unresolved challenges and outline promising directions for future research.

ACM Computing Surveys
China University of Mining and Technology (CN), University of Illinois Chicago (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Advanced Graph Neural Networks
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