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Even though there is still a dearth of scholarship in L2 simplified Chinese reading among adults, a growing body of research has contributed to this area to examine L2 Chinese reading process and performance. Due to this advancement in current literature, it is imperative to reflect on what has been researched in L2 Chinese reading in recent years and shed light on potential future research directions and pedagogical practices. To fill this gap, a qualitative analytic method was adopted to synthesize 25 selected studies (2009-2018) in L2 simplified Chinese reading among adult learners. Using analytic coding to identify emergent patterns regarding the research questions, methodologies, findings, and research implications, this study proposes that scholars interested in adult L2 Chinese reading conduct research looking at L2 Chinese reading processes embedded in learners’ social and cultural environment, adopting diverse methodological approaches that uncover readers’ voices, advancing understanding in social factors that impact L2 Chinese reading acquisition in classrooms, and attending to different processing levels and various forms of characters/ words/sentences/texts. Pedagogical implications were also discussed.