Abstract: Theoretical innovation in the independent knowledge system of Information Resources Management(IRM) discipline in China is a new mission and new responsibility entrusted by the new era and the new journey, and an inevitable requirement for distilling, summarizing, and solving problems in IRM. This paper first uses literature analysis and historical research methods to systematically review the evolutionary trajectory of theoretical research in China's IRM discipline, from initial formation, indigenous exploration, and integrated development to independent innovation, and reveals the driving mechanisms behind the discipline's theoretical development. Then, focusing on the three core elements of concepts, principles, and paradigms, it proposes a breakthrough scheme for theoretical innovation that reshapes a system of distinctive identifying concepts, distills basic principles grounded in Chinese practice, and innovates characteristic research paradigms. Finally, from the three dimensions of autonomy, collaboration, and leadership, a theoretical framework is proposed for transitioning from element-level innovation to holistic reconstruction. The theoretical innovation geared toward the independent knowledge system of China's IRM discipline helps give full play to the discipline's theoretical support role in major strategic tasks such as achieving scientific and technological self-reliance and strength, cultural inheritance and innovation, and national security governance. It ultimately forms a theoretical system of IRM with Chinese characteristics that bears China's identifying marks and is capable of participating in global dialogue, thereby enhancing the discipline's capacity to serve national strategies and its international academic discourse power.

Key words: Information resources management, Independent knowledge system of the discipline, Theoretical innovation, Distinctive identifying concept, Basic principle, Characteristic research paradigm