The article provides a review of the key research papers and articles dedicated to studying patents as economic category, as well as scientific publications using patent data in quantitative economic analysis. The author defines the following primary areas of research: the economic value of patents, sectoral studies and international comparisons. Findings obtained by the main quantitative methods, used in patent statistics studies are analyzed. It is demonstrated that for the last 60 years patents had been used in economic researches at the firm level, as well as in sectoral and national studies, including intersectoral and international comparisons. In methodology of the economic research on the base of patent data a shift took place from the simple quantitative methods to the more sophisticated ones, notably to the regression analysis. Some specialized quantitative methods used in such research papers alongside with regression analysis and in addition to it are identified. In particular gravity model, Cox proportional hazard model, Poisson regression model and CDM model were involved in patent data studies. It was found out that the some modern publications on that subject, using advanced quantitative methods, contributed to the gradual coping with persistent problems concerning qualitative assessment of the patent data.