Abstract: 【Purpose/significance】Scientific research is built on the basis of sufficient domestic and foreign exchanges and previous studies. It is of great significance to study the mechanism and synergistic effect of domestic and foreign literature citation.【Method/ process】Taking CSSCI economics journals as an example, this paper makes uses panel data and threshold models to analyze the con‑ tribution, coordination, and nonlinear characteristics of Chinese and foreign references on impact factors, based on theoretical analysis. 【Result/conclusion】The research results show that Chinese economics research has entered a mature stage, with Chinese references generally contributing more than foreign ones. The role of foreign references reversed significantly as well as a great structural change during 2010-2020, reflecting domestic discipline maturity. Poor coordination exists in absorbing foreign and domestic knowledge. Chi‑ nese references have the highest impact when foreign references are moderate, and the elasticity of both increases with higher impact factors.【Innovation/limitation】This paper combines the panel data model to analyze the synergistic effect of literature citation, reveal‑ ing its impact on journal impact factors, but it has not fully considered other influencing factors.