Abstract: Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the research results of domestic academic circles on the ideological leadership have become increasingly abundant. By sorting out the main research trends in the academic world, we found that scholars have conducted extensive researches on the origin and basic connotation of the concept of ideological leadership, on why ideological leadership is necessary, on the difficulties it faces, and on the practical paths. These studies, problem and practice orientated, have made certain theoretical contributions to follow-up researches. However, in the study of ideological leadership, the academic community still needs to further clarify related concepts and theoretical origins, to strengthen empirical researches on the basis of theoretical concerns, to expand international perspectives on the basis of analyzing the basic experience gained in China, and to take international perspectives in researches on China, and to do researches beyond existing disciplines so as to lay a more solid foundation for consolidating ideological leadership.

Key words: ideology, leadership, ideological leadership, ideological discourse, political leadership