Abstract: This article adopts the method of co-keyword analysis to survey research literatures of social work ethics in recent 20 years.The results show that the study of social work ethics tends to grow after 2009, and they were mainly published in the journals concerned with ethics and social work. Research focus is divided into three major areas, including the relationship between the participation of Chinese traditional culture in the construction of local social work ethics, the ethical dilemma and the intervention of ethical choice in social work practice,social work ethics education centering on curriculum design and teaching method.It suggests that future research should further promote the link and integration of professional services and traditional Chinese thoughts in the work mechanism. Drawing the model of ethical decision making, and combined with the actual situation in China, we should solve the ethical issues in the field of social work; lastly, research and teaching of social work ethics should be given more attention.

Key words: social work ethics, co-keyword analysis, traditional culture, localization, ethical choices