Haze has become one of the most concerning environmental problems recently. A number of cities all over the world have been suffering from severe haze pollution. An increasing number of scholars are dedicated to the research area of haze. Using scientometric and quantitative methods, this paper assesses the status quo and explores the evolution of haze research. The literature data from 1987 to 2017 is retrieved from the Web of Science. We establish co-citation networks and use visualization tools to reveal main research clusters. Based on our results, corresponding key elements, highly cited papers, the most influential and outstanding authors are determined. Furthermore, we note active authors, institutions, and countries in academic collaboration. Finally, we use burst detection to trace emerging hotspots and future directions of research. The results may be helpful in obtaining a general knowledge of the evolution of haze research and identifying future research directions.