# T-GRAB: A Synthetic Diagnostic Benchmark for Learning on Temporal Graphs

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.10183 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.10183/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 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 14 Jul 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 23 of 23)

- [Semi-Supervised Classification with Graph Convolutional Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1609.02907/) (2016)
- [Graph Attention Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1710.10903/) (2017)
- [CLEVR: A Diagnostic Dataset for Compositional Language and Elementary Visual Reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.06890/) (2016)
- [Temporal Graph Networks for Deep Learning on Dynamic Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.10637/) (2020)
- [Inductive Representation Learning on Temporal Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.07962/) (2020)
- [Predicting Dynamic Embedding Trajectory in Temporal Interaction Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.01207/) (2019)
- [EvolveGCN: Evolving Graph Convolutional Networks for Dynamic Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.10191/) (2019)
- [T-GCN: A Temporal Graph ConvolutionalNetwork for Traffic Prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.05320/) (2018)
- [Towards AI-Complete Question Answering: A Set of Prerequisite Toy Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1502.05698/) (2015)
- [Representation Learning for Dynamic Graphs: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.11485/) (2019)
- [Towards Better Dynamic Graph Learning: New Architecture and Unified Library](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.13047/) (2023)
- [Temporal Graph Benchmark for Machine Learning on Temporal Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.01026/) (2023)
- [Behaviour Suite for Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.03568/) (2019)
- [Foundations and modelling of dynamic networks using Dynamic Graph Neural Networks: A survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.07496/) (2020)
- [Towards Better Evaluation for Dynamic Link Prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.10128/) (2022)
- [Provably expressive temporal graph networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.15059/) (2022)
- [Neighborhood-aware Scalable Temporal Network Representation Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.01084/) (2022)
- [TGB 2.0: A Benchmark for Learning on Temporal Knowledge Graphs and Heterogeneous Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.09639/) (2024)
- [TGB-Seq Benchmark: Challenging Temporal GNNs with Complex Sequential Dynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.02975/) (2025)
- [Weisfeiler-Lehman goes Dynamic: An Analysis of the Expressive Power of Graph Neural Networks for Attributed and Dynamic Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.03990/) (2022)
- [UTG: Towards a Unified View of Snapshot and Event Based Models for Temporal Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.12269/) (2024)
- [Enhancing the Expressivity of Temporal Graph Networks through Source-Target Identification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.03596/) (2024)
- [The Logical Expressiveness of Temporal GNNs via Two-Dimensional Product Logics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.11930/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Temporal Knowledge Graph Forecasting under Distribution Shifts: A Synthetic Evaluation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.09232/) (2026)
- [Institutional Equity Holdings Prediction Using Node Affinities of Dynamic Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.12067/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Dynamic graph learning methods have recently emerged as powerful tools for modelling relational data evolving through time. However, despite extensive benchmarking efforts, it remains unclear whether current Temporal Graph Neural Networks (TGNNs) effectively capture core temporal patterns such as periodicity, cause-and-effect, and long-range dependencies. In this work, we introduce the Temporal Graph Reasoning Benchmark (T-GRAB), a comprehensive set of synthetic tasks designed to systematically probe the capabilities of TGNNs to reason across time. T-GRAB provides controlled, interpretable tasks that isolate key temporal skills: counting/memorizing periodic repetitions, inferring delayed causal effects, and capturing long-range dependencies over both spatial and temporal dimensions. We evaluate 11 temporal graph learning methods on these tasks, revealing fundamental shortcomings in their ability to generalize temporal patterns. Our findings offer actionable insights into the limitations of current models, highlight challenges hidden by traditional real-world benchmarks, and motivate the development of architectures with stronger temporal reasoning abilities. The code for T-GRAB can be found at: https://github.com/alirezadizaji/T-GRAB.