mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

A Survey on Generative Diffusion Model

arXiv 2209.02646 ↗First posted 6 Sep 2022cs.AIcited by 238

On the map: Diffusion models → Diffusion foundations and sampling

Abstract (arXiv)

Deep generative models have unlocked another profound realm of human creativity. By capturing and generalizing patterns within data, we have entered the epoch of all-encompassing Artificial Intelligence for General Creativity (AIGC). Notably, diffusion models, recognized as one of the paramount generative models, materialize human ideation into tangible instances across diverse domains, encompassing imagery, text, speech, biology, and healthcare. To provide advanced and comprehensive insights into diffusion, this survey comprehensively elucidates its developmental trajectory and future directions from three distinct angles: the fundamental formulation of diffusion, algorithmic enhancements, and the manifold applications of diffusion. Each layer is meticulously explored to offer a profound comprehension of its evolution. Structured and summarized approaches are presented in https://github.com/chq1155/A-Survey-on-Generative-Diffusion-Model.

Key facts. Cited by 238 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Diffusion foundations and sampling, one of 14 directions in Diffusion models. Builds on 161 of its 334 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 6 Sep 2022.

Builds on

161 of 334 references.

Closest ancestors · 49

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2022Cold Diffusion: Inverting Arbitrary Image Transforms Without Noise19 Aug
  2. 2022Riemannian Diffusion Models16 Aug
  3. 2022Analog Bits: Generating Discrete Data using Diffusion Models with Self-Conditioning8 Aug
  4. 2022Classifier-Free Diffusion Guidance26 Jul
  5. 2022Non-Uniform Diffusion Models20 Jul
  6. 2022Maximum Likelihood Training for Score-Based Diffusion ODEs by High-Order Denoising Score Matching16 Jun
  7. 2022Estimating the Optimal Covariance with Imperfect Mean in Diffusion Probabilistic Models15 Jun
  8. 2022CARD: Classification and Regression Diffusion Models15 Jun
  9. 2022gDDIM: Generalized denoising diffusion implicit models11 Jun
  10. 2022How Much is Enough? A Study on Diffusion Times in Score-based Generative Models10 Jun
  11. 2022DPM-Solver: A Fast ODE Solver for Diffusion Probabilistic Model Sampling in Around 10 Steps2 Jun
  12. 2022Elucidating the Design Space of Diffusion-Based Generative Models1 Jun
37 more
  1. 2022Improved Vector Quantized Diffusion Models31 May
  2. 2022Few-Shot Diffusion Models30 May
  3. 2022A Continuous Time Framework for Discrete Denoising Models30 May
  4. 2022Maximum Likelihood Training of Implicit Nonlinear Diffusion Models27 May
  5. 2022Accelerating Diffusion Models via Early Stop of the Diffusion Process25 May
  6. 2022Fast Sampling of Diffusion Models with Exponential Integrator29 Apr
  7. 2022Pseudo Numerical Methods for Diffusion Models on Manifolds20 Feb
  8. 2022Truncated Diffusion Probabilistic Models and Diffusion-based Adversarial Auto-Encoders19 Feb
  9. 2022Understanding DDPM Latent Codes Through Optimal Transport14 Feb
  10. 2022Learning Fast Samplers for Diffusion Models by Differentiating Through Sample Quality11 Feb
  11. 2022Riemannian Score-Based Generative Modelling6 Feb
  12. 2022Analytic-DPM: an Analytic Estimate of the Optimal Reverse Variance in Diffusion Probabilistic Models17 Jan
  13. 2022DiffuseVAE: Efficient, Controllable and High-Fidelity Generation from Low-Dimensional Latents2 Jan
  14. 2021High-Resolution Image Synthesis with Latent Diffusion Models20 Dec
  15. 2021Tackling the Generative Learning Trilemma with Denoising Diffusion GANs15 Dec
  16. 2021Score-Based Generative Modeling with Critically-Damped Langevin Diffusion14 Dec
  17. 2021Global Context with Discrete Diffusion in Vector Quantised Modelling for Image Generation3 Dec
  18. 2021Vector Quantized Diffusion Model for Text-to-Image Synthesis29 Nov
  19. 2021Conditional Image Generation with Score-Based Diffusion Models26 Nov
  20. 2021Diffusion Normalizing Flow14 Oct
  21. 2021ILVR: Conditioning Method for Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models6 Aug
  22. 2021Structured Denoising Diffusion Models in Discrete State-Spaces7 Jul
  23. 2021Variational Diffusion Models1 Jul
  24. 2021Score-based Generative Modeling in Latent Space10 Jun
  25. 2021Learning to Efficiently Sample from Diffusion Probabilistic Models7 Jun
  26. 2021A Variational Perspective on Diffusion-Based Generative Models and Score Matching5 Jun
  27. 2021On Fast Sampling of Diffusion Probabilistic Models31 May
  28. 2021Gotta Go Fast When Generating Data with Score-Based Models28 May
  29. 2021Diffusion Models Beat GANs on Image Synthesis11 May
  30. 2021Noise Estimation for Generative Diffusion Models6 Apr
  31. 2021Improved Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models18 Feb
  32. 2021Maximum Likelihood Training of Score-Based Diffusion Models22 Jan
  33. 2021Knowledge Distillation in Iterative Generative Models for Improved Sampling Speed7 Jan
  34. 2020Score-Based Generative Modeling through Stochastic Differential Equations26 Nov
  35. 2020Denoising Diffusion Implicit Models6 Oct
  36. 2020Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models19 Jun
  37. 2020Improved Techniques for Training Score-Based Generative Models16 Jun

Other references · 112

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  4. 2015Deep Unsupervised Learning using Nonequilibrium Thermodynamicscited by 7,005
  5. 2022Hierarchical Text-Conditional Image Generation with CLIP Latentscited by 6,539
  6. 2022Photorealistic Text-to-Image Diffusion Models with Deep Language Understandingcited by 6,322
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38 more
  1. 2021GLIDE: Towards Photorealistic Image Generation and Editing with Text-Guided Diffusion Modelscited by 3,595
  2. 2022DreamBooth: Fine Tuning Text-to-Image Diffusion Models for Subject-Driven Generationcited by 3,286
  3. 2016Improved Techniques for Training GANscited by 2,938
  4. 2022Prompt-to-Prompt Image Editing with Cross Attention Controlcited by 2,409
  5. 2022Video Diffusion Modelscited by 2,280
  6. 2015Variational Inference with Normalizing Flowscited by 2,161
  7. 2016Density estimation using Real NVPcited by 2,029
  8. 2020Knowledge Distillation: A Surveycited by 1,578
  9. 2022RePaint: Inpainting using Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Modelscited by 1,419
  10. 2019Generating Diverse High-Fidelity Images with VQ-VAE-2cited by 1,376
  11. 2015LSUN: Construction of a Large-scale Image Dataset using Deep Learning with Humans in the Loopcited by 1,350
  12. 2020DiffWave: A Versatile Diffusion Model for Audio Synthesiscited by 1,339
  13. 2019Normalizing Flows for Probabilistic Modeling and Inferencecited by 1,315
  14. 2021Palette: Image-to-Image Diffusion Modelscited by 1,296
  15. 2022Diffusion-LM Improves Controllable Text Generationcited by 1,006
  16. 2019An Introduction to Variational Autoencoderscited by 997
  17. 2022Denoising Diffusion Restoration Modelscited by 951
  18. 2021Diffusion Probabilistic Models for 3D Point Cloud Generationcited by 734
  19. 2022Equivariant Diffusion for Molecule Generation in 3Dcited by 666
  20. 2020WaveGrad: Estimating Gradients for Waveform Generationcited by 620
  21. 2017Generative Adversarial Networks: An Overviewcited by 588
  22. 2021CSDI: Conditional Score-based Diffusion Models for Probabilistic Time Series Imputationcited by 577
  23. 2021Argmax Flows and Multinomial Diffusion: Learning Categorical Distributionscited by 566
  24. 20213D Shape Generation and Completion through Point-Voxel Diffusioncited by 516
  25. 2021Solving Inverse Problems in Medical Imaging with Score-Based Generative Modelscited by 514
  26. 2022GeoDiff: a Geometric Diffusion Model for Molecular Conformation Generationcited by 511
  27. 2022Improving Diffusion Models for Inverse Problems using Manifold Constraintscited by 501
  28. 2021Label-Efficient Semantic Segmentation with Diffusion Modelscited by 495
  29. 2021Grad-TTS: A Diffusion Probabilistic Model for Text-to-Speechcited by 445
  30. 2021SRDiff: Single Image Super-Resolution with Diffusion Probabilistic Modelscited by 415
  31. 2016Tutorial on Variational Autoencoderscited by 404
  32. 2019Sliced Score Matching: A Scalable Approach to Density and Score Estimationcited by 381
  33. 2021Autoregressive Denoising Diffusion Models for Multivariate Probabilistic Time Series Forecastingcited by 332
  34. 2021Score-based diffusion models for accelerated MRIcited by 308
  35. 2022MCVD: Masked Conditional Video Diffusion for Prediction, Generation, and Interpolationcited by 307
  36. 2021Come-Closer-Diffuse-Faster: Accelerating Conditional Diffusion Models for Inverse Problems through Stochastic Contractioncited by 306
  37. 2022Flexible Diffusion Modeling of Long Videoscited by 294
  38. 2015A note on the evaluation of generative modelscited by 291

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Citing papers per year: 2022: 2; 2023: 9; 2024: 75; 2025: 91; 2026: 61.

238 papers.

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  1. 2024Diffusion Model-Based Image Editing: A Surveycited by 212
  2. 2024Understanding Reinforcement Learning-Based Fine-Tuning of Diffusion Models: A Tutorial and Reviewcited by 92
  3. 2024MAISI: Medical AI for Synthetic Imagingcited by 86
  4. 2024Optimal Flow Matching: Learning Straight Trajectories in Just One Stepcited by 74
  5. 2024Scaling Diffusion Transformers to 16 Billion Parameterscited by 65
  6. 2023On the Design Fundamentals of Diffusion Models: A Surveycited by 59
  7. 2024DiG: Scalable and Efficient Diffusion Models with Gated Linear Attentioncited by 56
  8. 2024Scalable Diffusion Models with State Space Backbonecited by 45
  9. 2024Efficient Diffusion Models: A Comprehensive Survey from Principles to Practicescited by 39
  10. 2023Advancements in Generative AI: A Comprehensive Review of GANs, GPT, Autoencoders, Diffusion Model, and Transformerscited by 35
  11. 2025Efficient Diffusion Models: A Surveycited by 35
  12. 2024Adversarial Attacks and Defenses on Text-to-Image Diffusion Models: A Surveycited by 34
38 more
  1. 2024Alignment of Diffusion Models: Fundamentals, Challenges, and Futurecited by 34
  2. 2024Make-Your-3D: Fast and Consistent Subject-Driven 3D Content Generationcited by 32
  3. 2024Attacks and Defenses for Generative Diffusion Models: A Comprehensive Surveycited by 32
  4. 2024Blue noise for diffusion modelscited by 29
  5. 2024Conditional Image Synthesis with Diffusion Models: A Surveycited by 29
  6. 2024Diff-RNTraj: A Structure-aware Diffusion Model for Road Network-constrained Trajectory Generationcited by 28
  7. 2024Diffusion Models Meet Remote Sensing: Principles, Methods, and Perspectivescited by 27
  8. 2024At the Dawn of Generative AI Era: A Tutorial-cum-Survey on New Frontiers in 6G Wireless Intelligencecited by 25
  9. 2024Evaluating the design space of diffusion-based generative modelscited by 25
  10. 2025Human Motion Video Generation: A Surveycited by 25
  11. 2024scDiffusion: conditional generation of high-quality single-cell data using diffusion modelcited by 23
  12. 2024Heat Death of Generative Models in Closed-Loop Learningcited by 21
  13. 2024Constrained Diffusion Models via Dual Trainingcited by 19
  14. 2025Ditto: Accelerating Diffusion Model via Temporal Value Similaritycited by 18
  15. 2023On the Trustworthiness Landscape of State-of-the-art Generative Models: A Survey and Outlookcited by 15
  16. 2024MagicEraser: Erasing Any Objects via Semantics-Aware Controlcited by 15
  17. 2025Deep Learning Advancements in Anomaly Detection: A Comprehensive Surveycited by 15
  18. 2024InstructG2I: Synthesizing Images from Multimodal Attributed Graphscited by 14
  19. 2025Flow Matching Meets Biology and Life Science: A Surveycited by 14
  20. 2024Retrieval Meets Reasoning: Even High-school Textbook Knowledge Benefits Multimodal Reasoningcited by 13
  21. 2024A Survey on 3D Human Avatar Modeling -- From Reconstruction to Generationcited by 13
  22. 2024Diffusion Models as Network Optimizers: Explorations and Analysiscited by 13
  23. 2024Automatic Evaluation for Text-to-image Generation: Task-decomposed Framework, Distilled Training, and Meta-evaluation Benchmarkcited by 13
  24. 2025Generative Diffusion Models for Wireless Networks: Fundamental, Architecture, and State-of-the-Artcited by 13
  25. 2024Chaining text-to-image and large language model: A novel approach for generating personalized e-commerce bannerscited by 11
  26. 2024StainDiffuser: MultiTask Dual Diffusion Model for Virtual Stainingcited by 11
  27. 2024Replication in Visual Diffusion Models: A Survey and Outlookcited by 11
  28. 2024E-Motion: Future Motion Simulation via Event Sequence Diffusioncited by 11
  29. 2024Text-guided multi-property molecular optimization with a diffusion language modelcited by 11
  30. 2024A Generative Framework for Probabilistic, Spatiotemporally Coherent Downscaling of Climate Simulationcited by 11
  31. 2022Infrared Image Super-Resolution: Systematic Review, and Future Trendscited by 10
  32. 2023A Multi-Modal Contrastive Diffusion Model for Therapeutic Peptide Generationcited by 10
  33. 2024Stable Diffusion-based Data Augmentation for Federated Learning with Non-IID Datacited by 10
  34. 2025DIFFVSGG: Diffusion-Driven Online Video Scene Graph Generationcited by 10
  35. 2023Domain-Guided Conditional Diffusion Model for Unsupervised Domain Adaptationcited by 9
  36. 2024Text2CAD: Text to 3D CAD Generation via Technical Drawingscited by 9
  37. 2025On the minimax optimality of Flow Matching through the connection to kernel density estimationcited by 9
  38. 2024Multi-modal Generative AI: Multi-modal LLMs, Diffusions, and the Unificationcited by 8

50 most cited of 238 All 238 (JSON)

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