Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are one of the important globalization strategies of multinational corporations. Using data from Zephyr global M&A database, this study built the global cross-border M&A network from 1997 to 2017 and analyzed the evolution of topology characteristics and structure. The analysis results are as follows. (1) Since the 1990s, global cross-border M&A have developed in a fluctuating manner. The topological characteristics show different features at different points, of which the global financial crisis in 2008 was an important turning point. (2) The small world characteristic of the global cross-border M&A network is prominent. The network is scale-free, and rich-club phenomenon of the acquiring party is more obvious than that of the acquired party. However, the rich-club phenomenon of both shows a decrease as the process of economic globalization with more and more developing countries/regions participating in the competition of cross-border M&A market. (3) The global cross-border M&A network shows a “core-edge” structure. The center has gradually transformed from dual-core (North America and Western Europe) structure to “global triangle” structure since the global financial crisis in 2008, of which East Asia and Southeast Asia constitute the third core. Nevertheless, Africa, South America and parts of Asia are the persistent peripheries. (4) Countries/regions play a different role in the global cross-border M&A network, so they can be divided into outward or inward in terms of net capital flow and core, active or potential players in terms of the scale of cross-border M&A. The performance of different countries/regions has changed a lot in 1997-2017, especially European regions. (5) Although some countries (Singapore, Poland, Czech, United Arab Emirates, etc.) become more and more important in the global cross-border M&A network, countries along the Belt and Road as a whole are not active in cross-border M&A, most of which are in a position of the edge. (6) China has grown from a potential player to a core player by attracting foreign investment and encouraging capital exports, but the link between China and Belt and Road countries in the aspect of cross-border M&A is weak and should be strengthened appropriately on the basis of host country’s resource endowment, industrial development, and institutional environment.