Coping with global climate change and achieving sustainable development have become shared visions among humanity. The relentless advancement of the global carbon neutrality agenda has made calculating, managing and regulating greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, a pressing and important task. Nevertheless, existing research lacks a systematic review of the literature pertaining to carbon emission accounting frameworks and carbon management means. Our study commences with a thorough analysis of the research development progress in carbon emission accounting, focusing on methods and scopes. Meanwhile, we track the evolutionary trends encompassing multidimensional research subjects within this field. Building on this foundation, our study homes in two crucial carbon management subjects: carbon emission reduction system design within economic perspectives, and strategic planning and implementation of advanced carbon emission reduction technologies. It unveils the prevailing themes, critical bottlenecks, and significant challenges of existing research into national-level carbon management. Finally, drawing on the review concerning the research status of global carbon emission accounting and management, our study highlights several key research directions that warrant exploration in the future, aiming to establish a comprehensive policy framework, theoretical foundation, and practical tools for expediting the attainment of a zero-carbon objective at the national level.