# Learning on Graphs with Large Language Models(LLMs): A Deep Dive into Model Robustness

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.12068 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.12068/

## Key facts

- Cited by 11 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 45 of its 57 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 16 Jul 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 45)

- [BERT: Pre-training of Deep Bidirectional Transformers for Language Understanding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.04805/) (2018)
- [PyTorch: An Imperative Style, High-Performance Deep Learning Library](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.01703/) (2019)
- [LLaMA: Open and Efficient Foundation Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.13971/) (2023)
- [Semi-Supervised Classification with Graph Convolutional Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1609.02907/) (2016)
- [Sentence-BERT: Sentence Embeddings using Siamese BERT-Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.10084/) (2019)
- [Graph Attention Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1710.10903/) (2017)
- [Towards Deep Learning Models Resistant to Adversarial Attacks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.06083/) (2017)
- [Fast Graph Representation Learning with PyTorch Geometric](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1903.02428/) (2019)
- [Open Graph Benchmark: Datasets for Machine Learning on Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.00687/) (2020)
- [Text Embeddings by Weakly-Supervised Contrastive Pre-training](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.03533/) (2022)
- [Adversarial Attacks on Neural Networks for Graph Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1805.07984/) (2018)
- [Graph Structure Learning for Robust Graph Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.10203/) (2020)
- [Exploring the Potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) in Learning on Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.03393/) (2023)
- [Wiki-CS: A Wikipedia-Based Benchmark for Graph Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.02901/) (2020)
- [Can Language Models Solve Graph Problems in Natural Language?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.10037/) (2023)
- [Prompting Large Language Model for Machine Translation: A Case Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.07069/) (2023)
- [GraphGPT: Graph Instruction Tuning for Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.13023/) (2023)
- [Language is All a Graph Needs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.07134/) (2023)
- [GPT4Graph: Can Large Language Models Understand Graph Structured Data ? An Empirical Evaluation and Benchmarking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.15066/) (2023)
- [Topology Attack and Defense for Graph Neural Networks: An Optimization Perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.04214/) (2019)
- [LLMRec: Large Language Models with Graph Augmentation for Recommendation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.00423/) (2023)
- [Learning on Large-scale Text-attributed Graphs via Variational Inference](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.14709/) (2022)
- [Node Feature Extraction by Self-Supervised Multi-scale Neighborhood Prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.00064/) (2021)
- [Harnessing Explanations: LLM-to-LM Interpreter for Enhanced Text-Attributed Graph Representation Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.19523/) (2023)
- [GraphLLM: Boosting Graph Reasoning Ability of Large Language Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.05845/) (2023)
- [Text Classification via Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.08377/) (2023)
- [Robustness of Graph Neural Networks at Scale](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.14038/) (2021)
- [AnglE-optimized Text Embeddings](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.12871/) (2023)
- [InstructMol: Multi-Modal Integration for Building a Versatile and Reliable Molecular Assistant in Drug Discovery](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.16208/) (2023)
- [GIT-Mol: A Multi-modal Large Language Model for Molecular Science with Graph, Image, and Text](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.06911/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 11 of 11)

- [Graph2text or Graph2token: A Perspective of Large Language Models for Graph Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.01124/) (2025)
- [TrustGLM: Evaluating the Robustness of GraphLLMs Against Prompt, Text, and Structure Attacks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.11844/) (2025)
- [Are LLM-Enhanced Graph Neural Networks Robust against Poisoning Attacks?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.26105/) (2026)
- [CAT: Can Trust be Predicted with Context-Awareness in Dynamic Heterogeneous Networks?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.11352/) (2025)
- [Revisiting Graph-Tokenizing Large Language Models: A Systematic Evaluation of Graph Token Understanding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.03514/) (2026)
- [Trustworthy GNNs with LLMs: A Systematic Review and Taxonomy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.08353/) (2025)
- [Tackling Distribution Shift in LLM via KILO: Knowledge-Instructed Learning for Continual Adaptation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.03571/) (2025)
- [Robustness in Text-Attributed Graph Learning: Insights, Trade-offs, and New Defenses](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.17185/) (2025)
- [Navigating the Black Box: Leveraging LLMs for Effective Text-Level Graph Injection Attacks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.13276/) (2025)
- [GRAPHTEXTACK: A Realistic Black-Box Node Injection Attack on LLM-Enhanced GNNs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.12423/) (2025)
- [ZeroGAR: Benchmarking the Adversarial Robustness of Zero-Shot Graph Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.33314/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Large Language Models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable performance across various natural language processing tasks. Recently, several LLMs-based pipelines have been developed to enhance learning on graphs with text attributes, showcasing promising performance. However, graphs are well-known to be susceptible to adversarial attacks and it remains unclear whether LLMs exhibit robustness in learning on graphs. To address this gap, our work aims to explore the potential of LLMs in the context of adversarial attacks on graphs. Specifically, we investigate the robustness against graph structural and textual perturbations in terms of two dimensions: LLMs-as-Enhancers and LLMs-as-Predictors. Through extensive experiments, we find that, compared to shallow models, both LLMs-as-Enhancers and LLMs-as-Predictors offer superior robustness against structural and textual attacks.Based on these findings, we carried out additional analyses to investigate the underlying causes. Furthermore, we have made our benchmark library openly available to facilitate quick and fair evaluations, and to encourage ongoing innovative research in this field.