Abstract: The spatial Durbin model (SDM) is used to study the impact of digital finance on regional innovation efficiency and its mechanism based on Chinas provincial panel data from 2011 to 2018 The results show that regional innovation efficiency has a certain spatial spillover, and a competitive effect exists in innovation activities from various regions The improvement of the development level of digital finance can improve innovation efficiency of the region, but the development of digital finance in neighboring regions will inhibit innovation efficiency of the region According to the estimated results of the intermediary effect model, the development of digital finance improves the efficiency of regional innovation mainly through the expansion of financial scale and the upgrading of industrial structure Finally, based on the above research and its heterogeneity analysis, policy recommendations are put forward in light of different regions.

Key words: egional innovation efficiency, digital finance, spatial Durbin model, intermediary effec