Abstract: From the perspective of urban sociology, sports and urban studies have undergone a research turn of culture→space→life, and their historical context, applied development and theoretical limitations make sense for local research. Through the integration of the relevant theoretical schools of urban sociology and the review of sports and urban research issues, it is found that sports and urban studies in culture are influenced by the methods and perspectives of the Chicago School of sociology, involving the interaction of class, race, gender, subculture and sports participation; while the sports and urban studies in space follow the spatial production theory of new urban sociology, aiming to expose and criticize the alienation of space and human by characteristics of capital. The sports and urban studies in life abandon the theoretical research orientation of the new urban sociology and advocate the humanistic planning idea of returning to daily life and rebuilding urban rights. In the future, local sports and urban research should, by starting from the object and method, extend the existing boundary between sports and urban research; in the meanwhile, local practice should be considered as the core to guide the benign development of sports and urban research.