Professional academic journals, as the continuous publication of a series of papers in a particular industry or professional field, analyze their development and the stage characteristics of the documents published to lay a solid foundation for the transformation of the journal to enhance academic leadership. Using the CNKI as the data source, we statistically analyzed the distribution of types and topics, the distribution of authors and institutions, and the citing literature of highly cited papers in the Landscape Architecture Academic Journal (LAAJ) before, during, and after the transition. The results show that the citation frequency is closely related to the stage of journal development, and the number of TOP5% highly cited papers in the transition period is higher than that before the transition period; After the transition period, the highly cited papers have increased in the category of experimental simulation, and the academic and continuity of the theme distribution has been enhanced; Before and after the transition period, the highly cited authors have gradually transformed into high-influence experts of the disciplinary fields, and the highly cited units have gradually tilted to the colleges and universities and research institutes which have the advantages of scientific research resources; Before and after the transition period, the source journals of highly cited papers’ citing literature are gradually concentrated in high-influence journals in the industry; There is a moderate correlation between citations and downloads, and the lag effect of citations has appeared with the passage of time. The citation of papers before and after the transformation of LAAJ has significant stage characteristics, and the study provides a reference for the journal’s editorial department and similar journals to grasp the journal’s dynamics and guide the journal’s healthy and sustainable development.