Abstract: With the reformation of China′s national park system, community participation emerges as a pivotal factor in achieving both ecological conservation and social development. This paper reviews research findings on community participation within China′s national parks from 2008 to 2025, and provides evaluations and future outlooks. The findings reveal: (1) Key focus areas include "community co-management", "livelihood strategies", and "ecological compensation". Current challenges involve incomplete governance mechanisms, unequal benefit distribution, and inadequate ecological compensation. (2) Community co-management and governance are crucial for achieving collaborative governance among diverse stakeholders. However, significant shortcomings exist in institutional design and practical implementation, with many studies remaining theoretical and lacking practical solutions tailored to China′s complex ecological and social contexts. (3) Ecotourism and ecological conservation are major forms for community resident involvement. However, in practice, residents primarily engage in executive tasks and lack institutionalized decision-making power. Moreover, the participatory roles of tourists and the public have not been fully realized. (4) The establishment of national parks has facilitated shifts in community livelihood models. On the other hand, benefit distribution remains uneven, leaving communities in peripheral beneficiary positions. Concessions often deviate from the principle of "benefit sharing", failing to sufficiently motivate long-term community engagement. Finally, prospects for future research are outlined in five areas: 1) accelerating local co-management and governance practices, 2) developing a comprehensive national park big data center that includes community participation, 3) fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and international comparison, 4) establishing robust mechanisms for community engagement in national parks, and 5) refining pathways for community participation in national parks.