# Large Language Model-based Data Science Agent: A Survey

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.02744 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.02744/

## Key facts

- Cited by 23 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Web, search, and research agents, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use.
- Builds on 82 of its 127 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 2 Aug 2025.

## Placed in

- LLM agents and tool use / [Web, search, and research agents](https://mlsanity.com/agents/web-search-and-research-agents/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 82)

- [A Survey on Large Language Model based Autonomous Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.11432/) (2023)
- [MetaGPT: Meta Programming for A Multi-Agent Collaborative Framework](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.00352/) (2023)
- [ChatDev: Communicative Agents for Software Development](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.07924/) (2023)
- [Large Language Model based Multi-Agents: A Survey of Progress and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.01680/) (2024)
- [Why Do Multi-Agent LLM Systems Fail?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.13657/) (2025)
- [Language Agent Tree Search Unifies Reasoning Acting and Planning in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.04406/) (2023)
- [MLE-bench: Evaluating Machine Learning Agents on Machine Learning Engineering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.07095/) (2024)
- [DS-1000: A Natural and Reliable Benchmark for Data Science Code Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.11501/) (2022)
- [MLAgentBench: Evaluating Language Agents on Machine Learning Experimentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.03302/) (2023)
- [TheAgentCompany: Benchmarking LLM Agents on Consequential Real World Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.14161/) (2024)
- [CodeAgent: Enhancing Code Generation with Tool-Integrated Agent Systems for Real-World Repo-level Coding Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.07339/) (2024)
- [AutoCodeRover: Autonomous Program Improvement](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.05427/) (2024)
- [ScienceAgentBench: Toward Rigorous Assessment of Language Agents for Data-Driven Scientific Discovery](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.05080/) (2024)
- [AgentClinic: a multimodal agent benchmark to evaluate AI in simulated clinical environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.07960/) (2024)
- [Data Interpreter: An LLM Agent For Data Science](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.18679/) (2024)
- [Large Language Model-Based Agents for Software Engineering: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.02977/) (2024)
- [MapCoder: Multi-Agent Code Generation for Competitive Problem Solving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.11403/) (2024)
- [InfiAgent-DABench: Evaluating Agents on Data Analysis Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.05507/) (2024)
- [MAGIS: LLM-Based Multi-Agent Framework for GitHub Issue Resolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.17927/) (2024)
- [DS-Agent: Automated Data Science by Empowering Large Language Models with Case-Based Reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.17453/) (2024)
- [DSBench: How Far Are Data Science Agents from Becoming Data Science Experts?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.07703/) (2024)
- [MLGym: A New Framework and Benchmark for Advancing AI Research Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.14499/) (2025)
- [FinCon: A Synthesized LLM Multi-Agent System with Conceptual Verbal Reinforcement for Enhanced Financial Decision Making](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.06567/) (2024)
- [MatPlotAgent: Method and Evaluation for LLM-Based Agentic Scientific Data Visualization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.11453/) (2024)
- [AutoML-Agent: A Multi-Agent LLM Framework for Full-Pipeline AutoML](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.02958/) (2024)
- [Self-Organized Agents: A LLM Multi-Agent Framework toward Ultra Large-Scale Code Generation and Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.02183/) (2024)
- [AutoML-GPT: Automatic Machine Learning with GPT](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.02499/) (2023)
- [BLADE: Benchmarking Language Model Agents for Data-Driven Science](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.09667/) (2024)
- [Data-Copilot: Bridging Billions of Data and Humans with Autonomous Workflow](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.07209/) (2023)
- [Self-Evolving Multi-Agent Collaboration Networks for Software Development](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.16946/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 23 of 23)

- [A Survey of Data Agents: Emerging Paradigm or Overstated Hype?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.23587/) (2025)
- [Agent Primitives: Reusable Latent Building Blocks for Multi-Agent Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.03695/) (2026)
- [Can We Predict Before Executing Machine Learning Agents?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.05930/) (2026)
- [AgentBay: A Hybrid Interaction Sandbox for Seamless Human-AI Intervention in Agentic Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.04367/) (2025)
- [LongDA: Benchmarking LLM Agents for Long-Document Data Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.02598/) (2026)
- [Rewarding the Scientific Process: Process-Level Reward Modeling for Agentic Data Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.24198/) (2026)
- [LongDS-Bench: On the Failure of Long-Horizon Agentic Data Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.30434/) (2026)
- [Role-Agent: Bootstrapping LLM Agents via Dual-Role Evolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.10917/) (2026)
- [Do Agents Need to Plan Step-by-Step? Rethinking Planning Horizon in Data-Centric Tool Calling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.08477/) (2026)
- [Understanding LLM Performance Degradation in Multi-Instance Processing: The Roles of Instance Count and Context Length](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.22608/) (2026)
- [Multi-Agent Coordination Adaptation via Structure-Guided Orchestration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.25746/) (2026)
- [Unsupervised Skill Discovery for Agentic Data Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.06416/) (2026)
- [DARE: Aligning LLM Agents with the R Statistical Ecosystem via Distribution-Aware Retrieval](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.04743/) (2026)
- ["Skill Issues'': Data-Centric Optimization of Lakehouse Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.01185/) (2026)
- [MaDI-Bench: An End-to-End Data Integration Benchmark](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.30371/) (2026)
- [Autonomous Data Processing using Meta-Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.00307/) (2026)
- [AutoHealth: An Uncertainty-Aware Multi-Agent System for Autonomous Health Data Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.01078/) (2026)
- [Lazy or Efficient? Towards Accessible Eye-Tracking Event Detection Using LLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.13243/) (2026)
- [Complete Cyclic Subtask Graphs for Tool-Using LLM Agents: Flexibility, Cost, and Bottlenecks in Long-Horizon Workflows](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.22820/) (2026)
- [From Single Chatbots to Governed Agent Ecosystems: An Agentic AI Pattern Catalogue and Orchestration Framework for Mission-Critical Hospital Information Management Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.07627/) (2026)
- [SIGMA: SHAP-Guided Implicit-Trajectory Generation for Metadata-Free LLM-Based AutoFE](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.17948/) (2026)
- [Open Tabular Insight Extraction: Where Do We Stand, and Where Should We Go?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.07629/) (2026)
- [Skill-based Agentic Evaluation for Real-time Data Science Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.16487/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The rapid advancement of Large Language Models (LLMs) has driven novel applications across diverse domains, with LLM-based agents emerging as a crucial area of exploration. This survey presents a comprehensive analysis of LLM-based agents designed for data science tasks, summarizing insights from recent studies. From the agent perspective, we discuss the key design principles, covering agent roles, execution, knowledge, and reflection methods. From the data science perspective, we identify key processes for LLM-based agents, including data preprocessing, model development, evaluation, visualization, etc. Our work offers two key contributions: (1) a comprehensive review of recent developments in applying LLMbased agents to data science tasks; (2) a dual-perspective framework that connects general agent design principles with the practical workflows in data science.