Abstract:The panel data of 27 cities in Yangtze River Delta from 2000-2019 were selected to evaluate the innovation capability of the region and its spatio-temporal evolution analysis based on the entropy value method from five dimensions. The results show that the innovation capability of the Yangtze River Delta as a whole is growing, and the innovation technology capability gradually replaces the innovation infrastructure environment as the primary dimension affecting the innovation capability over time; in terms of time, it can be divided into three stages of rapid, steady and slow development, and the number of eastern hotspot cities gradually increases spatially; according to the differences in innovation capability, cities can be divided into fine-tuned first cities, fluctuating middle cities and smooth back cities. The first two types of cities need to consider innovation infrastructure conditions and innovation technology capability as important dimensions to improve the innovation capability of cities, while the cities in the latter category need to consider innovation infrastructure conditions and industrial concentration as important dimensions.