Abstract:Digital finance is an important force in promoting high-quality economic development in China. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2018, the spatial Durbin model is used to empirically test the impact of digital finance on the high-quality development of China''s economy and its spatial spillover effects, and examine the heterogeneous impact of different regions, digital financial structures and urbanization rates. The research shows that digital finance can significantly promote the high-quality economic development in the region, but the spillover effect on neighboring regions is limited. This conclusion still holds after considering endogeneity and robustness tests. In the heterogeneity analysis, the development of digital finance plays a significant role in promoting the high-quality economic development in the eastern, central and western regions, but has a greater impact on the western region and only a positive spatial spillover effect in the eastern and western regions. The coverage breadth and depth of digital finance coverage significantly promotes the high-quality economic development of the region, while its digitalization has a significant inhibitory effect; and only the coverage breadth of digital finance has a positive spillover effect on high-quality economic development of neighboring regions. The development of digital finance in areas with high urbanization rate is conducive to the high-quality development of the local economy, but the effect is not obvious in areas with low urbanization rate, and there is no significant spatial spillover effect. It is advised to strengthen digital finance supervision, promote the coordinated development of digital finance in the eastern and central and western regions. What’s more, to speed up the construction of regional economic circle and urbanization, and to strengthen the spillover effect of digital finance among provinces are also important.