<p>The mantle plume model describes a crucial form of upward (bottom to top) movement of materials and energy within the Earth’s interior. Together with the downward (top to bottom) movement of subducting slabs, it collectively forms the primary upward and downward channels for the transport of materials and energy between the Earth’s surface and the deep mantle, leading to intense volcanic activities and climatic-environmental effects on the surface. The establishment and refinement of the mantle plume model have undergone a relatively long process, during which a series of significant papers have been produced. We have selected six typically representative papers from these works for interpretation, aiming to present to readers the key records of the mantle plume model, including its establishment, verification, and associated effects. These papers cover the following aspects: the proposal of the mantle plume model, the establishment of the “head-tail” morphology of mantle plumes, the constraints of geochemical observations on the chemical composition of mantle plumes, the constraints of seismological observations on the morphological structure of mantle plumes, the surface manifestations of mantle plumes, and the impacts of mantle plumes on the Earth’s surface environment. From different perspectives, these papers form the cornerstones in the development of the mantle plume model, provide key supporting nodes for this theoretical framework, and offer important insights and references for subsequent research.</p>