cs.LGMay 12, 2026

Knowledge Graphs Meet Graph Neural Networks: A Comprehensive Survey

Authors: Chengcheng Sun, Jiayun Tian, Cheng Zhai, Zhixiao Wang, Yajie Song, Xiaobin Rui, Jian Zhang, Philip S. Yu

Organizations: School of Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, China · School of Computer Science and Technology, China University of Mining and Technology, China · State Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Disaster Prevention and Control, China University of Mining and Technology, China · Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, US

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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