Permafrost represents Earth's largest terrestrial organic carbon reservoir. It is projected that over 90% of permafrost will degrade during the 21st century, triggering the widespread formation and succession of thermokarst lakes. The life cycle of thermokarst lakes—spanning formation, expansion, maturation, and drainage—poses significant challenges and introduces substantial uncertainties in assessing carbon stocks and emissions in permafrost landscapes. The ecological succession of thermokarst lakes highlights the complexity of carbon cycling within these environments. This study explores the potential impacts of changes in thermokarst lake abundance, the transformation of permafrost into thermokarst lakes, the dynamics of carbon cycling within these systems, and the reversion of drained thermokarst lakes to permafrost. Sedimentation and carbon burial rates further illustrate the considerable variability and uncertainty in the contributions of thermokarst lakes to permafrost carbon cycling. Measured sedimentation rates range from 57 to 21,964 g/m²/yr, while carbon burial rates vary from 0.5 to 1,167 gC/m²/yr. Our findings emphasize critical knowledge gaps in understanding thermokarst lake succession and its implications for carbon dynamics in permafrost regions.