Abstract:The cultivation of college students' innovative ability is the core issue of the current education reform.At present, the mathematical modeling competition has become an important means for all colleges and universities across the country to cultivate the innovative ability of college students.By issuing questionnaires to students of agricultural colleges, engineering colleges and comprehensive colleges, constructing an evaluation model, and conducting empirical analysis, it is concluded that mathematical modeling competitions have significantly improved the cultivation of college students’ innovative ability. The most significant impact is the cultivation of college students' innovative practical operation ability and innovative learning ability. At the same time, the innovative knowledge base and innovative thinking ability of college students have been improved in math competition activities.