Granulomatous lobular mastitis (GLM) is a rare mastitis disease, which mainly occurs in childbearing period. The etiology, diagnosis and treatment of GLM are still disputed. In recent years, the role of Corynebacterium infection in the pathogenesis of GLM has attracted more and more attention. Cystic neutrophilic granulomatous mastitis (CNGM) has been proposed, and more and more studies have targeted CNGM as a unique subtype of GLM. This article summarizes the published literature on CNGM so far to discuss the research progress in clinicopathological features, microbiological findings, clinical diagnosis and treatment of CNGM.