Health and wellness thematic publishing represents a distinct and essential segment within scientific, technical, and medical (STM) thematic publishing, wielding a significant influence. This study focuses on the science-and-technology and health-related topics in the key thematic-publishing catalogues designated by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee for the period of 2019–2024. It explores the essence of health and wellness thematic publishing through three dimensions: medical-academic publishing, health-science-popularization publishing, and medical-humanities publishing. Based on this analysis, the study further evaluates retail market performance, identifies prevailing challenges, and proposes targeted solutions to provide valuable insights and recommendations for the innovative advancement of health and wellness thematic publishing. Medical-academic thematic publishing emphasizes China's innovative achievements, breakthroughs, and historical developments in medical science and technology, aiming to tell the story of China's medical innovation and highlight thedistinctive Chinese characteristics, style, and solutions in the field of medicine. Health-science-popularization thematic publishing focuses on disseminating scientific knowledge in medicine and interpreting major breakthroughs and developmental milestones while balancing professional rigor with accessibility. By promoting health knowledge and advocating healthy lifestyles, it aims to enhance public scientific health literacy and awareness of traditional Chinese medicine, thereby fulfilling its essential mission of supporting the broader Healthy China strategy. Medical-humanities thematic publishing takes the life journeys of medical scientists and the evolution of the health-science enterprise as its narrative spine, and weaving professional depth with literary appeal. Rooted in promoting the scientific spirit of medicine and the ethos of medical scientists, it fortifies the spiritual core of the health sector and fosters a social respect for medicine, medical ethics, and patient care. Health-related thematic publishing is relatively new and remains deficient in experience, requiring deeper understanding of fundamental patterns. Research in this domain remains insufficient, presenting opportunities for expanding both topic quantity and variety. Additionally, its sustainability requires improvement, particularly in long-term planning and continuous innovation. China's health-related thematic publishing faces unprecedented opportunities for growth. As the field develops, the concept of health and wellness thematic publishing will become more clearly defined. Ongoing innovation in high-quality content creation and diversified dissemination methods will reshape the market. Publishers must enhance strategic planning, precise program positioning, and specialized team development. Concurrently, they should harness artificial intelligence, big data, and other technologies, explore cross-institutional collaborations and "publishing-plus" models, and generate brand synergies to improve competitiveness. By producing exceptional health-themed works, they can satisfy the public's growing demand for knowledge services while integrating health knowledge dissemination, cultural preservation, and scientific spirit promotion.