Timo Koivurova has a multidisciplinary specialisation in Arctic law and government but has also conducted broader research on global law (including authoring an English-language text book on international environmental law). Some of his research areas include:

• The legal status of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic (e.g. the Sámi)
• Regulations and politics regarding climate change in general and in the Arctic
• Regulating mining industry practices
• Arctic immigration
• The laws and politics surrounding the opening of the Arctic Ocean
• The continued development of the Arctic Council as an intergovernmental forum
• Rapidly-changing geopolitical trends in the Arctic, both from a broader geopolitical perspective and also with a special focus on China's role in the region
• Possibilities for an Arctic treaty.

He has been involved as an expert in several international processes globally and in the Arctic region and has published on the above-mentioned topics extensively.