Objectives Natural protected areas play a crucial role in safeguarding national ecological security and are fundamental to the construction of ecological civilization. The coordinated development between protected natural areas and communities is pivotal to achieving the objectives of constructing and managing these areas. Therefore, it is imperative to accurately comprehend the relationship between protected natural area construction and communities, as well as conduct thorough research.

Methods This article utilized literature metrology software to analyze significant academic literature related to the coordinated development of natural protected areas and community over the past three decades.

Results The findings revealed that the examination of the relationship between natural protected areas and communities could be divided into three eras: the exploratory infancy stage (before 2000), the comprehensive advancement phase (2001—2010), and the in-depth expansion stage (2011—2021). The research focuses on three main areas: the influence of natural protected area construction on communities, the perception and influence of communities on natural protected area development, and measures for the coordinated development between natural protected area construction and communities. Empirical research on the impact of natural protected areas on communities was extensive. Research on coordinated development measures has shifted from theoretical explorations to concrete models, practical pathways, and additional investigations. However, current research had several limitations. Firstly, there was a lack of comprehensive and long-term explorations of the impact of natural protected areas on communities. Secondly, there was no consensus on measurement standards for communities’ perception of natural protected area construction. Thirdly, research on differentiated measures for the coordinated development between natural protected areas and communities were weak. Finally, there was a scarcity of studies on the evaluation of the benefits of coordinated development measures between natural protected areas and communities.

Conclusions Based on these observations, we proposed a framework for future research on the coordinated development of natural protected area construction and community development. It was recommended to enhance research on the comprehensive impact of nature reserve construction on community residents' well-being, improve measurement standards for communities’ perception of nature reserve construction, strengthen differentiated research on coordinated development measures between nature reserves and communities, should be strengthened comprehensive benefits evaluation research on coordinated development measures between nature reserves and communities, and so on, tothe research system of coordinated development between nature reserves and communities.