Abstract In recent years, the application of algal and bacterial biofertilizers in paddy fields has been gradually paid attention to, and the synergistic symbiosis between algae and bacteria can significantly affect the carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus patterns, bioavailability and transformation processes in paddy ecosystems. “algae-bacteria symbiosis”,“algae-bacteria synergy”, etc. were used as search terms to retrieve relevant literature from 2020-2024 in the Web of Science (WOS) database and the China Knowledge Network Platform (CNKI), and co-occurrence analyses were carried out by CiteSpace software. The results showed that the current research on algal and bacterial symbiosis mainly focuses on the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from farmland drainage and the passivation of heavy metals in soil, while the research on the efficient use of nutrients and fertility enhancement of paddy soil is relatively less, and the mechanism of algal and bacterial symbiosis to promote the efficient use of nutrients is not clear enough. This paper summarises the current research status of algae and bacteria in nutrient cycling and heavy metal passivation in paddy fields, especially describes the mechanism of algal-bacterial symbiosis and its impact on nutrient cycling in paddy fields, and discusses the potential value of algal-bacterial symbiosis in paddy field ecosystems and its direction of future development.