Research data publishing is an important trend of the future development of academic exchange system. The paper analyzes articles about research data publishing in databases such as CNKI and WOS to describe its development history and research progress. From the lifecycle perspective of data publishing, the author reviews studies about several key problems of data publishing, including modes, system and patterns, citation, metadata, relationship with research document, privacy protection, and quality control, aiming at providing reference and enlightenment for major participants of China to publish research data.