The religious and philosophical tradition of Kashmir Śaivism represented by such outstanding philosophers and mystics as Abhinavagupta, Vasugupta, Utpaladeva has become a popular topic in the scientific, philosophical and non-academic circles in recent years. However, despite more than a century of research on this system its importance in Indian philosophy was recognized only in the middle of the 20th century. This article presents a historiographical overview of the Kashmir Śaivism research and the process of its formation as one of the most important systems of Indian philosophy. We present here the works of such well-known Indian and Western scientists as J. Chatterji, Swami Lakshman Joo, G. Bühler, P.E. Muller-Ortega, M. Dyczkowski, A. Padoux etc. Different research centers for studying the tradition all over the world, some modern problems of studying Kashmir Śaivism, as well as some difficulties that modern scientists may face in their studies are also covered.