mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

RouteRAG: Efficient Retrieval-Augmented Generation from Text and Graph via Reinforcement Learning

arXiv 2512.09487 ↗First posted 10 Dec 2025cs.CL cs.AI cs.IRcited by 5

On the map: Retrieval-augmented generation → Knowledge-graph and structured-knowledge RAG

Abstract (arXiv)

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) integrates non-parametric knowledge into Large Language Models (LLMs), typically from unstructured texts and structured graphs. While recent progress has advanced text-based RAG to multi-turn reasoning through Reinforcement Learning (RL), extending these advances to hybrid retrieval introduces additional challenges. Existing graph-based or hybrid systems typically depend on fixed or handcrafted retrieval pipelines, lacking the ability to integrate supplementary evidence as reasoning unfolds. Besides, while graph evidence provides relational structures crucial for multi-hop reasoning, it is substantially more expensive to retrieve. To address these limitations, we introduce model, an RL-based framework that enables LLMs to perform multi-turn and adaptive graph-text hybrid RAG. model jointly optimizes the entire generation process via RL, allowing the model to learn when to reason, what to retrieve from either texts or graphs, and when to produce final answers, all within a unified generation policy. To guide this learning process, we design a two-stage training framework that accounts for both task outcome and retrieval efficiency, enabling the model to exploit hybrid evidence while avoiding unnecessary retrieval overhead. Experimental results across five question answering benchmarks demonstrate that model significantly outperforms existing RAG baselines, highlighting the benefits of end-to-end RL in supporting adaptive and efficient retrieval for complex reasoning.

Key facts. Cited by 5 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Knowledge-graph and structured-knowledge RAG, one of 15 directions in Retrieval-augmented generation. Builds on 24 of its 37 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 10 Dec 2025.

Builds on

24 of 37 references.

Closest ancestors · 4

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2024LightRAG: Simple and Fast Retrieval-Augmented Generation8 Oct
  2. 2024Graph Retrieval-Augmented Generation: A Survey15 Aug
  3. 2024From Local to Global: A Graph RAG Approach to Query-Focused Summarization24 Apr
  4. 2024RAPTOR: Recursive Abstractive Processing for Tree-Organized Retrieval31 Jan

Other references · 20

  1. 2022Training language models to follow instructions with human feedbackcited by 15,712
  2. 2017Proximal Policy Optimization Algorithmscited by 14,441
  3. 2020Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Taskscited by 9,160
  4. 2024DeepSeekMath: Pushing the Limits of Mathematical Reasoning in Open Language Modelscited by 8,851
  5. 2022ReAct: Synergizing Reasoning and Acting in Language Modelscited by 8,355
  6. 2023Efficient Memory Management for Large Language Model Serving with PagedAttentioncited by 5,767
  7. 2017Deep reinforcement learning from human preferencescited by 3,846
  8. 2020Dense Passage Retrieval for Open-Domain Question Answeringcited by 3,779
  9. 2018HotpotQA: A Dataset for Diverse, Explainable Multi-hop Question Answeringcited by 3,686
  10. 2020REALM: Retrieval-Augmented Language Model Pre-Trainingcited by 2,126
  11. 2024HybridFlow: A Flexible and Efficient RLHF Frameworkcited by 1,980
  12. 2025Search-R1: Training LLMs to Reason and Leverage Search Engines with Reinforcement Learningcited by 1,371
8 more
  1. 2020Constructing A Multi-hop QA Dataset for Comprehensive Evaluation of Reasoning Stepscited by 1,259
  2. 2021Unsupervised Dense Information Retrieval with Contrastive Learningcited by 1,203
  3. 2022When Not to Trust Language Models: Investigating Effectiveness of Parametric and Non-Parametric Memoriescited by 1,103
  4. 2022Interleaving Retrieval with Chain-of-Thought Reasoning for Knowledge-Intensive Multi-Step Questionscited by 911
  5. 2024NV-Embed: Improved Techniques for Training LLMs as Generalist Embedding Modelscited by 466
  6. 2023Factuality Challenges in the Era of Large Language Modelscited by 125
  7. 2020A Survey of Knowledge-Enhanced Text Generationcited by 119
  8. 2024HybGRAG: Hybrid Retrieval-Augmented Generation on Textual and Relational Knowledge Basescited by 26

Built on by

Cited by year (2026 to 7 Oct)

Citing papers per year: 2026: 5.

5 papers.

Similar, not cited

Close in wording, no citation either way

  1. 2025Reasoning by Exploration: A Unified Approach to Retrieval and Generation over Graphs
  2. 2025GRIL: Knowledge Graph Retrieval-Integrated Learning with Large Language Models
  3. 2025MARAG-R1: Beyond Single Retriever via Reinforcement-Learned Multi-Tool Agentic Retrieval
  4. 2025You Don't Need Pre-built Graphs for RAG: Retrieval Augmented Generation with Adaptive Reasoning Structures
  5. 2026HyperGraphPro: Progress-Aware Reinforcement Learning for Structure-Guided Hypergraph RAG
  6. 2025Multi-hop Reasoning via Early Knowledge Alignment
  7. 2025GraphRAG-R1: Graph Retrieval-Augmented Generation with Process-Constrained Reinforcement Learning
  8. 2026How Much Reasoning Do Retrieval-Augmented Models Add beyond LLMs? A Benchmarking Framework for Multi-Hop Inference over Hybrid Knowledge