Abstract: A literature review of research advancement in the field of technological niche is made in this paper. It presents the origin and definition, state of the art, and research trends. The advancement made by Chinese scholars is compared with that made by the foreign scholars. Generally speaking, the foreign scholars have done better than the domestic scholars. While commonly recognized theories are formed within the foreign research community, it is still at the concept exploration phase for the Chinese researchers. This implies that the research in this field is not sufficient explored in China. Thus, it is a meaningful research direction to deeply explore the technology innovation and sustainable development based on technological niche.

Key words: technological niche, niche, market niche, strategy niche management (SNM)