Kunxue Jiwen is a collection of scholarly notes and research, compiled by Wang Yinglin in his later years while living in Yong (甬). It includes eight volumes on Confucian classics, two volumes each on astronomy, geography, and the philosophers, six volumes on historical studies, three volumes on poetry and literature criticism, and one volume of miscellaneous knowledge. The content covers "the essence of the Nine Classics, key events in the histories of successive dynasties, the origins and development of systems and objects, as well as discussions and critiques by renowned scholars." Kunxue Jiwen corrects many errors made by previous scholars. For example, in Volume 12 on historical studies: "The Yue Shu consists of nineteen chapters, but the Suyin states, 'It is the Anshi Fangzhong Music.' Upon examination of the Han Catalogue, it shows that the Anshi Fangzhong Song has seventeen chapters and the Suburban Sacrifice Songs have nineteen chapters. Therefore, the Suyin is incorrect." Wang Yinglin was skilled in using taboo characters for verification, often leaving doubts unresolved if necessary. For instance, in Volume 14 on historical studies: "In the Li Deyu Biography, Wei Hongzhi proposed that prime ministers should not also manage finances. In the imperial examination of Jia You sixth year, it states, 'Managing finances is a major responsibility; the words of Wei Xian should not be combined with those of the prime minister.' It appears that to avoid using taboo characters, 'zhi' (质) was mistakenly used as 'xian' (贤)."

The Qing scholar Zhang Jialu commented: "Wang Yinglin's scholarship is not limited to textual studies; his goal is to elucidate the Way. Kunxue Jiwen discusses in great detail the rise and fall of virtuous and unvirtuous people, as well as the reasons behind changes in social customs and public sentiment." Liang Qichao said: "Wang Yinglin's Kunxue Jiwei laid the foundation for Qing dynasty scholarship, which is why it was highly valued by Qing scholars."

Kunxew Jiwen has been annotated by seven scholars—Cheng Yaotian, Tu Jixu, Wan Xihui, Yan Ruoqu, He Chao, Quan Zuwang, and Qian Daxin—and is thus known as the Seven Annotations Edition. It is considered one of the three great note-taking works of the Song dynasty, alongside Mengxi Bitan (Dream Brook Essays) and Rongzhai Suibi.

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《困學紀聞》是考據筆記，是王應麟晚年寓居甬上的「碎金所萃」，有〈說經〉八卷，〈天文〉、〈地理〉、〈諸子〉二卷，〈考史〉六卷，〈評詩文〉三卷，〈雜識〉一卷，「九經旨趣，歷代史傳之事要，制度名物之原委，以至宗工巨儒之詩文議論」。《困學紀聞》糾正許多前人犯下的錯誤，例如卷十二《考史》中：「《樂書》作十九章，《索隱》云：『《安世房中樂》。』今考之《漢志》，《安世房中歌》十七章、《郊祀歌》十九章。《索隱》誤。」王應麟擅長於用避諱考証，「當闕所疑」，例如卷十四《考史》中，「《李德裕傳》：韋弘質建言，宰相不可兼治錢穀。嘉祐六年《制策》：錢穀，大計也，韋賢之言不宜兼于宰相。蓋弘字避諱，誤以『質』為『賢』。」

清人張嘉祿稱：「深寧學問豈盡心于文字，蓋將以明道也，《困學紀聞》一書於君子小人消長之幾，人心風俗維繫之故，言之最切。」梁啓超說：「宋王應麟《困學紀聞》，為清代考証學先導，故清儒甚重之。」

《困學紀聞》共有七家箋釋，程瑤田、屠繼緒、萬希槐、閻若璩、何焯、全祖望、錢大昕，故世稱七箋本。《困學紀聞》和《夢溪筆談》、《容齋隨筆》並稱宋代三大筆記書。

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