An analysis of the literature review of "carbon lock-in" research would be crucial for promoting low-carbon research. This paper collects Chinese and foreign literature on "carbon lock-in" from 2000 to 2022 and reviews "carbon lock-in" research with a focus on dynamic evolution and lock-out mechanisms. This paper also applies bibliometric analysis software to sort literature and reveal crucial issues using strategic coordinate charts, analyzing dissertation characteristics and keywords to uncover trends. Results show that foreign research on "carbon lock-in" produces a higher volume of publications, team size and cooperation intensity compared to domestic research. The main research direction of domestic "carbon lock-in" research is low-carbon and sustainable development, while foreign research focuses on global climate and energy development. In the future, scholars need to explore the differential influence of regional and industrial factors on carbon lock-in and build a dynamic assessment model integrating industry and regional synergy to promote global carbon emissions reduction.