As a powerful tool and key link in the application of ecological theory to practice, ecosystem service has been a hot topic of research in ecology, geography and other disciplines. In recent years, it has also been the research frontier of practical disciplines such as natural resource management, urban and rural planning and design. Therefore, many disciplines enlarge the integration of their fields with ecosystem service research in order to improve tradeoffs for decision-makers and promote the sustainable development of society and the natural environment. However, there are some neglected but worth review issues in the research chain from theoretical research to practical application: whether and to what extent ecosystem services research has been effectively combined with practical application. This paper established an analytical framework of demand driven - research matching - application integration. Through the bibliometric and correlation analysis methods and based on the analytical framework, this paper analyzed the progress of the global research literature in the recent decade to review the effectiveness of the combination between ecosystem service research and practical application. A total of 122 articles were obtained. Most of the research introduction said that their studies were driven by practical needs, and indicated that their studies combined with application. Such combination mostly focused on natural resource management and planning, and only a few studies applied ecosystem services research to small-scale projects, such as ecological restoration projects (10.7%) and design (2.4%). In terms of research matching, although some studies have developed some special indicators and technical methods to promote establishing links between research and practice; but overall, the impacts of ecosystem services research on practice were limited, especially in terms of data, technical methods and indicators. There was a lack of clear relevancy between theory and practical application. The research did exist gaps. Finally, in bridging research and practice, this paper proposed some approaches, such as innovating spatial evaluation techniques that directly matched the practical needs; developing indicators and evaluation methods directly related to people’s welfare (such as health risk, property damage). During the implementation of practical projects, tracking and post-evaluation research should be developed to assess whether the results of ecosystem services studies have been effectively integrated with practical application. By doing so, it is to expand the breadth and depth of research in the field of ecosystem services, help realizing the objectives of ecosystem services, and serve the practical application demands in sustainable development.