Two-Dimensional Weisfeiler-Lehman Graph Neural Networks for Link Prediction
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Abstract (arXiv)
Link prediction is one important application of graph neural networks (GNNs). Most existing GNNs for link prediction are based on one-dimensional Weisfeiler-Lehman (1-WL) test. 1-WL-GNNs first compute node representations by iteratively passing neighboring node features to the center, and then obtain link representations by aggregating the pairwise node representations. As pointed out by previous works, this two-step procedure results in low discriminating power, as 1-WL-GNNs by nature learn node-level representations instead of link-level. In this paper, we study a completely different approach which can directly obtain node pair (link) representations based on textittwo-dimensional Weisfeiler-Lehman (2-WL) tests. 2-WL tests directly use links (2-tuples) as message passing units instead of nodes, and thus can directly obtain link representations. We theoretically analyze the expressive power of 2-WL tests to discriminate non-isomorphic links, and prove their superior link discriminating power than 1-WL. Based on different 2-WL variants, we propose a series of novel 2-WL-GNN models for link prediction. Experiments on a wide range of real-world datasets demonstrate their competitive performance to state-of-the-art baselines and superiority over plain 1-WL-GNNs.
Key facts. Cited by 6 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Builds on 23 of its 40 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 20 Jun 2022.
Builds on
23 of 40 references.
References · 23
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11 more
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Citing papers per year: 2022: 1; 2023: 0; 2024: 3; 2025: 0; 2026: 2.
6 papers.
- 2022FakeEdge: Alleviate Dataset Shift in Link Predictioncited by 12
- 2024Foundations and Frontiers of Graph Learning Theorycited by 3
- 2024Expressive Higher-Order Link Prediction through Hypergraph Symmetry Breakingcited by 2
- 2024Attribute-Enhanced Similarity Ranking for Sparse Link Predictioncited by 1
- 2026On the Expressive Power of GNNs to Solve Linear SDPscited by 1
- 2026Edge-Level Automorphism in GNNs: A Quantitative Framework and Effective Designs For Link Predictioncited by 0
- 2026Edge-Level Automorphism in GNNs: A Quantitative Framework and Effective Designs For Link Prediction28 Sep 2026
- 2026On the Expressive Power of GNNs to Solve Linear SDPs30 Apr 2026
- 2024Attribute-Enhanced Similarity Ranking for Sparse Link Prediction29 Nov 2024
- 2024Foundations and Frontiers of Graph Learning Theory3 Jul 2024
- 2024Expressive Higher-Order Link Prediction through Hypergraph Symmetry Breaking17 Feb 2024
- 2022FakeEdge: Alleviate Dataset Shift in Link Prediction29 Nov 2022