From the micro level, this paper takes the central government''s "deleveraging" policy to strictly control the debt of state-owned enterprises（SOES） as a natural experiment. Based on the data of A-share SOES from 2013 to 2017, the impact of "deleveraging" policy on the innovation of state-owned enterprises is investigated by using the difference of differences method. It is found that the policy has a short-term inhibitory effect on SOES'' innovation, and will force SOES to carry out technological innovation in the long run. Further, from the perspective of enterprise liquidity, this paper also studies the mechanism of "deleveraging" policy on the innovation of SOES. The implementation of "deleveraging" policy will inhibit the liquidity of enterprises, and then inhibit the innovation of SOES. In view of this, this paper puts forward strategies and suggestions for the post-epidemic period from the government level: short-term focus on enterprise rescue, long-term guidance of industrial upgrading and incentive for enterprise innovation, and firm implementation of "deleveraging"