Abstract: The simulation experiment is a kind of new method in the field of contemporary public policy research, which has a broad application prospect. This paper systematically combs the development trend of public policy simulation at home and abroad in the past 20 years by means of bibliometrics analysis, compares and analyzes the main differences and similarities between Chinese and foreign research to extract constructive thoughts. The findings are as follows: (1) Public policy simulation research reflects distinctive characteristics of the times, namely, focusing on governance scenarios, technical tools, and value criticisms. (2) The application fields of public policy simulation research are widely distributed. The specific application tools tend to be diversified and there are certain differences between domestic and foreign research. (3) The theme of contemporary policy simulation research is closely related to the public governance scene, and the research paradigm is biased towards tools and supportive studies on public policy decisions. Focusing on the research trend at home and abroad, the future domestic public policy simulation research needs to give full play to the advantages of tools, to further break down the barriers of research thinking, to focus on investigating the deep theories and mechanisms of the generation and evolution of public policies, and to promote the integration and application of multiple types of tools according to the situation.