Over the past two decades, the world's view of the state‐owned enterprise reform (SOER) has shifted. Based on the WOS database and CiteSpace, this study analyzes the SOER from seven dimensions and reveals that the SOER is heating up and closer to co‐research. China and the United States have become important research centers, and Chinese state‐owned enterprises have become the main research objects. Moreover, this study finds that the concept of the SOER has changed rapidly after 2012 and supports state ownership in five aspects: economic drive, resource access, innovation promotion, social responsibility enhancements, and state governance.