Cities hold a critical responsibility for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) due to their high population density, extensive resource consumption, and significant economic contributions. To examine the present state of understandings regarding urban sustainability (SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities) within Chinese research communities, this study collected 15 950 papers from 1994 to 2022 on the 12 indicators of SDG 11, from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), a hub of Chinese academic papers, that directly relate to policymaking. Significant research topics on SDG 11 were identified for each indicator using bibliometrics analysis approaches. The high-frequency keywords and clusters of keywords over the last three decades reveal that existing studies primarily concentrated on the physical aspects, such as transportation and environment, while there is a lack of consideration of societal aspects. This indicates a limited and biased understanding of the urban sustainability within the Chinese academic community. Hence, it is crucial to prioritize the societal aspects in order to develop a research agenda that further advances urban sustainability.