Abstract:The intellectual property protection system is an important part of promoting the modernization of the national governance system and governance capabilities. Strengthening intellectual property protection provides a strong institutional guarantee for high-quality development. This paper deeply reveals the internal economic logic of intellectual property protection and high-quality economic development from the perspectives of technological innovation, industrial structure upgrading and human capital through theoretical analysis, and conducts empirical tests based on China's provincial panel data from 2008 to 2017. The results indicate that, intellectual property protection has a significant incentive effect on high-quality economic development, In addition, the impact of intellectual property protection on high-quality economic development is regionally heterogeneous. The positive effect of intellectual property protection on the high-quality economic development of the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Bohai Rim Economic Circles is significantly higher than that of other regions. The research results provide decision-making reference for strengthening the top-level design of intellectual property rights, strengthening intellectual property protection and promoting high-quality economic development.