As a significant branch of critical geopolitics, popular geopolitics serves as one of the fields which is the closest to daily life. In addition to making up for the aphasia of traditional geopolitics in media field, popular geopolitics has displayed a new exploration path of geopolitics in various fields gradually, including film, radio and television fields, etc. Since its research is still at the initial stage in China, it is not feasible to support the research and development of popular geopolitics by the existing domestic research outcomes. Therefore, by taking 189 literatures highly related to popular geopolitics in Web of Science Database as the research objects, this paper uses the literature research to sort out and summarize the origin, development history, relevant research methods and major topics for discussion of popular geopolitics, and prospects the future research direction of popular geopolitics. According to the research, it can be concluded that: (1) popular geopolitics has inter-disciplinary characteristics such as geography, communication and politics and so on, with research cases area expanding from the US-Soviet region to the whole world. (2) The theoretical support of popular geopolitical research is more abundant compared with the interpretation of post-colonialism through characterization and post-structuralism, and the research on "man" and "thing" is more diversified. (3) The research on popular geopolitics takes example by methods of sociology, communication, anthropology and other disciplines. Its research topics mainly concentrate on the analysis and interpretation of elite’s minds in the media, geopolitical imagination of the public influenced by the media as well as characterization of national mythology in the media and its influence on national identity. (4) Popular geopolitics will create a new development direction by combining other disciplines in the future. There is no doubt that strengthening the research on popular geopolitics has non-negligible theoretical and practical significance. In addition to completing the construction of geopolitical discipline system, its research helps a country to convey a positive image of sun to a group that has no direct contact with it in geopolitical events, eliminate unjust descriptions and discredit, and unite the masses when facing ideological challenges. China’s intensified research on popular geopolitics will help the implementation of the go-global strategy and the realization of national rejuvenation. It can also help the country to make suggestions for establishing a better national image in the development process.