<p>Electrolyte additives for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are critical to optimizing the trade-off between two core performance metrics, charge-discharge cycling lifetime (CT) and ionic conductivity (<i>σ</i>). Additives have been mechanistically understood through 6 functional categories in the regulation of Zn²⁺ solvation/desolvation, the Zn anode and its interphase, raising the necessity to clarify their complex chemical – functional – performance relationships. A collection of 56 organic additives were clustered into 9 groups according to Tanimoto distance based on chemical similarity, allocated into the 6 functional categories, and projected onto a (CT, <i>σ</i>) joint performance space. Additives that fall into the upper boundaries were identified, then contributions from their inherent molecular descriptors and interactions with water and Zn²⁺ were explored. Accounting for the distribution in chemical similarity and functional mechanisms, additives with favored molecular descriptors were screened that could simultaneously enhance <i>σ</i> and prolong CT. Among them, methyl diethylphosphonoacetate served as experimental validation and provided a <i>σ</i> of 57.3mS·cm^− 1 (200.3% improvement) and a CT of 2300.0&#xa0;h at 1.0&#xa0;mA·cm^− 2, a 1383.9% improvement against the control. The majority of relationships are conserved when extending to a larger collection of 94 additives, from organic molecules to inorganic salts, ionic liquids, and metal-cations. This tentative statistical study may provide useful references to design and prepare high-performance AZIBs with high power density and long cycle lifetimes.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>