Combining new insights from both bibliometric and text mining analyses, with prior relevant research conversations on circular economy (CE) and industrial ecology (IE), this paper aims to clarify the recent development trends and relations between these concepts, including their representations and applications. On this basis, discussions are made and recommendations provided on how CE and IE approaches, tools, and indicators can complement each other to enable and catalyze a more circular and sustainable development, by supporting sustainable policy-making and monitoring sound CE strategies in industrial practices.