Abstract:In order to clarify the characteristics and rules of the spatial pattern of urban innovation capacity in Guangdong Province, this paper constructs an index system of urban innovation capability and calculate the comprehensive index of urban innovation capability, analyzes the spatial pattern of innovation capability of 21 cities in Guangdong Province in 20 years, and analyzes the spatial spillover effect of urban innovation capability through the spatial econometric model. Conclusions can be drawn as follows: (1) The distribution of urban innovation capability in Guangdong shows an increasingly typical power-law distribution. The top cities are in Pearl River Delta which with high innovation capability, they are few and tend to be polarized. while the bottom cities are in other area which with low innovation capability, they account for the vast majority proportion and their gap was closing. (2) The imbalance of urban innovation ability in Guangdong is increasing, which is due to the widening gap between the Pearl River Delta and other areas of Guangdong, and the proportion of the rapid expansion of differences within the Pearl River Delta region is increasing. (3) The urban innovation capability of Guangdong has the phenomenon of club agglomeration, which shows the "center-periphery" spatial structure with Shenzhen and Guangzhou as the core and the innovation capability of the surrounding cities gradually decreasing. There is a significant positive spatial spillover effect of urban innovation capability, and the influencing factors of the innovation capability of neighboring cities also affect the local innovation capability. The conclusions of this study provide new policy implications for promoting the balanced and coordinated development of Guangdong innovation capacity.