# Online Continual Graph Learning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.03283 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.03283/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 52 of its 76 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 5 Aug 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 52)

- [Adam: A Method for Stochastic Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1412.6980/) (2014)
- [Semi-Supervised Classification with Graph Convolutional Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1609.02907/) (2016)
- [Distilling the Knowledge in a Neural Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1503.02531/) (2015)
- [Graph Attention Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1710.10903/) (2017)
- [Inductive Representation Learning on Large Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.02216/) (2017)
- [Overcoming catastrophic forgetting in neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.00796/) (2016)
- [Neural Message Passing for Quantum Chemistry](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1704.01212/) (2017)
- [Learning without Forgetting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.09282/) (2016)
- [iCaRL: Incremental Classifier and Representation Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.07725/) (2016)
- [Open Graph Benchmark: Datasets for Machine Learning on Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.00687/) (2020)
- [Gradient Episodic Memory for Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.08840/) (2017)
- [Simplifying Graph Convolutional Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.07153/) (2019)
- [Continual Lifelong Learning with Neural Networks: A Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.07569/) (2018)
- [Memory Aware Synapses: Learning what (not) to forget](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.09601/) (2017)
- [Experience Replay for Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.11682/) (2018)
- [Efficient Lifelong Learning with A-GEM](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.00420/) (2018)
- [Pitfalls of Graph Neural Network Evaluation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.05868/) (2018)
- [Riemannian Walk for Incremental Learning: Understanding Forgetting and Intransigence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.10112/) (2018)
- [FastGCN: Fast Learning with Graph Convolutional Networks via Importance Sampling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.10247/) (2018)
- [Cluster-GCN: An Efficient Algorithm for Training Deep and Large Graph Convolutional Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.07953/) (2019)
- [Class-incremental learning: survey and performance evaluation on image classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.15277/) (2020)
- [Online Continual Learning with Maximally Interfered Retrieval](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.04742/) (2019)
- [PathNet: Evolution Channels Gradient Descent in Super Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1701.08734/) (2017)
- [A critical look at the evaluation of GNNs under heterophily: Are we really making progress?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.11640/) (2023)
- [Deep Gaussian Embedding of Graphs: Unsupervised Inductive Learning via Ranking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.03815/) (2017)
- [Representation Learning for Dynamic Graphs: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.11485/) (2019)
- [Online Continual Learning in Image Classification: An Empirical Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.10423/) (2021)
- [New Insights on Reducing Abrupt Representation Change in Online Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.05025/) (2021)
- [A Survey on Graph Neural Networks for Time Series: Forecasting, Classification, Imputation, and Anomaly Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.03759/) (2023)
- [Temporal Graph Benchmark for Machine Learning on Temporal Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.01026/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Randomized Representations in Online Continual Graph Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.06819/) (2025)
- [DRIFT: A Benchmark for Task-Free Continual Graph Learning with Continuous Distribution Shifts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.12998/) (2026)
- [Continual Graph Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.10302/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Continual Learning (CL) aims to incrementally acquire new knowledge while mitigating catastrophic forgetting. Within this setting, Online Continual Learning (OCL) focuses on updating models promptly and incrementally from single or small batches of observations from a data stream. Extending OCL to graph-structured data is crucial, as many real-world networks evolve over time and require timely, online predictions. However, existing continual or streaming graph learning methods typically assume access to entire graph snapshots or multiple passes over tasks, violating the efficiency constraints of the online setting. To address this gap, we introduce the Online Continual Graph Learning (OCGL) setting, which formalizes node-level continual learning on evolving graphs under strict memory and computational budgets. OCGL defines how a model incrementally processes a stream of node-level information while maintaining anytime inference and respecting resource constraints. We further establish a comprehensive benchmark comprising seven datasets and nine CL strategies, suitably adapted to the OCGL setting, enabling a standardized evaluation setup. Finally, we present a minimalistic yet competitive baseline for OCGL, inspired by our benchmarking results, that achieves strong empirical performance with high efficiency.