mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

Bridging Evolutionary Algorithms and Reinforcement Learning: A Comprehensive Survey on Hybrid Algorithms

arXiv 2401.11963 ↗First posted 22 Jan 2024cs.NE cs.AI cs.LGcited by 23

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Abstract (arXiv)

Evolutionary Reinforcement Learning (ERL), which integrates Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) and Reinforcement Learning (RL) for optimization, has demonstrated remarkable performance advancements. By fusing both approaches, ERL has emerged as a promising research direction. This survey offers a comprehensive overview of the diverse research branches in ERL. Specifically, we systematically summarize recent advancements in related algorithms and identify three primary research directions: EA-assisted Optimization of RL, RL-assisted Optimization of EA, and synergistic optimization of EA and RL. Following that, we conduct an in-depth analysis of each research direction, organizing multiple research branches. We elucidate the problems that each branch aims to tackle and how the integration of EAs and RL addresses these challenges. In conclusion, we discuss potential challenges and prospective future research directions across various research directions. To facilitate researchers in delving into ERL, we organize the algorithms and codes involved on https://github.com/yeshenpy/Awesome-Evolutionary-Reinforcement-Learning.

Key facts. Cited by 23 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 113 of its 286 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 22 Jan 2024.

Builds on

113 of 286 references.

References · 113

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38 more
  1. 2018Diversity is All You Need: Learning Skills without a Reward Functioncited by 734
  2. 2018QT-Opt: Scalable Deep Reinforcement Learning for Vision-Based Robotic Manipulationcited by 730
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Citing papers per year: 2024: 1; 2025: 14; 2026: 8.

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  1. 2024Toward Automated Algorithm Design: A Survey and Practical Guide to Meta-Black-Box-Optimizationcited by 23
  2. 2025The impact of intrinsic rewards on exploration in Reinforcement Learningcited by 8
  3. 2025Advancing CMA-ES with Learning-Based Cooperative Coevolution for Scalable Optimizationcited by 4
  4. 2025Embodied Co-Design for Rapidly Evolving Agents: Taxonomy, Frontiers, and Challengescited by 4
  5. 2025Accelerating Vehicle Routing via AI-Initialized Genetic Algorithmscited by 2
  6. 2025An Efficient Task-Oriented Dialogue Policy: Evolutionary Reinforcement Learning Injected by Elite Individualscited by 2
  7. 2025The Price equation reveals a universal force-metric-bias law of algorithmic learning and natural selectioncited by 1
  8. 2026Meta-Learning-Assisted Constraint Relaxation for Constrained Black-Box Optimizationcited by 1
  9. 2026A Learning-Based Cooperative Coevolution Framework for Heterogeneous Large-Scale Global Optimizationcited by 1
  10. 2026Evolutionary Enhanced Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Cooperative Air Combatcited by 1
  11. 2025Reinforcement learning Based Automated Design of Differential Evolution Algorithm for Black-box Optimizationcited by 0
  12. 2025Physics-Informed Evolution: An Evolutionary Framework for Solving Quantum Control Problems Involving the Schr"odinger Equationcited by 0
11 more
  1. 2025Unlearning Works Better Than You Think: Local Reinforcement-Based Selection of Auxiliary Objectivescited by 0
  2. 2025Randomised Optimism via Competitive Co-Evolution for Matrix Games with Bandit Feedbackcited by 0
  3. 2025A Study of Hybrid and Evolutionary Metaheuristics for Single Hidden Layer Feedforward Neural Network Architecturecited by 0
  4. 2025Scaling DRL for Decision Making: A Survey on Data, Network, and Training Budget Strategiescited by 0
  5. 2025An In-depth Study of LLM Contributions to the Bin Packing Problemcited by 0
  6. 2025CogMCTS: A Novel Cognitive-Guided Monte Carlo Tree Search Framework for Iterative Heuristic Evolution with Large Language Modelscited by 0
  7. 2026READY: Reward Discovery for Meta-Black-Box Optimizationcited by 0
  8. 2026Decoupling Numerical and Structural Parameters: An Empirical Study on Adaptive Genetic Algorithms via Deep Reinforcement Learning for the Large-Scale TSPcited by 0
  9. 2026Evolution-Inspired Sample Competition for Deep Neural Network Optimizationcited by 0
  10. 2026Contextual Quality-Diversity Evolutionary Reinforcement Learning for HVAC Control in Tropical Commercial Buildingscited by 0
  11. 2026Emergent Charging Coordination in Electric Delivery Fleetscited by 0