Air transportation is characterized by fast, efficient and long-distance transportation, which can break the geographical limitations, promote the transnational flow of economic factors such as people, technology, capital and commodities, link individual cities into a city network, reduce the cost of travel and promote the development of the world economy. The aviation network constructed from the data of air passenger flights from 2010 to 2020 was analyzed, and the spatial structure and evolution law of the aviation network were studied by using complex network theory and social network analysis. The research results show that from 2010 to 2013, Europe and the United States occupied the dominant position in the aviation network, and Chicago and New York have been dominating the list. The Middle East began to rise as an aviation hub due to its geographic location advantage in 2013. In 2018, thanks to the tourism policy and the economic rise, the aviation position of East Asia, Southeast Asia and East Africa is increasing, while the aviation position of the developed countries in Europe and the United States is declining, and the global aviation layout is tending to be balanced. In 2020, the global aviation layout will be more balanced, and China's position in the global aviation network will gradually increase. Aviation network has the characteristics of small world and scale-free network, which can promote the interaction and connection between cities and break the limitations of geography and distance. These findings help optimize China's aviation network, improve the accessibility and reliability of air passenger and cargo flows, and achieve the goal of a strong civil aviation nation.