Community language schools provide language and cultural education to young people. Forming a key education sector worldwide with an estimated two million enrolments, these community-run, out-of-hours schools nonetheless tend to be marginalised by 'mainstream' education and 'mainstream' educational research. There has been a dramatic increase in research into community language schools in the past two decades, but there is still no systematic review that analyses the education role and contribution of this sector. This study aims to provide a clear picture of the extent, nature and gaps in the existing research into community language schools from 2001 to 2023. The study tracks how the research focus has shifted and grown in the past decades, but also highlights that the marginalisation of community language schools and research remains. The study directs researchers to relevant publications and suggests issues and topics in need of further research.