The investigation of coastline alterations holds significant scientific and societal importance, particularly in guiding offshore engineering planning and design, as well as the economic development of coastal regions. In this study, we used CiteSpace software to examine relevant literature within the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database to explore the current status, hotspots, and frontiers of research on coastline change in China. Our findings revealed a consistent increase in the number of publications within this domain, with 1996 representing the first growth point in the number of publications on coastal changes. Since 2002, the number of publications has significantly increased owing to scientific and technological advancements and urban development. Research on coastal changes in China is primarily conducted in universities and research institutes, particularly at the Ocean University of China. However, research institutions and authors are widely dispersed, and the consistency between them is low. An apparent, balanced distribution phenomenon exists in this research field. Content related to keywords such as “coastline,” “coastal zone,” and “remote sensing” is the focus of research in this field. Remote sensing monitoring, big data analysis, and deep learning techniques are closely related to the study of coastline changes, representing the latest advancements in this field.