Water resources are facing challenges, which requires to harness water environment. River governor system as a new model has become a social hotspot. This paper, based on CNKI references during 2008 to 2015, uses CiteSpace to study the river governor system aiming at clarifying its evolution, focusing on advanced harness and excellent practices, and mastering the trend. This study provides a revelation for river governor system to revive nationwide. Related references quantities grows stably during 2008 to 2016 and surges during 2017 to 2018. The year of 2016 is milestone. The main contents are concentrated in concept, objectives, approaches, participants, river governor system & water ecological culture construction. Information technology on drone, remote sensing and satellitE-river is a research frontier as well.