Abstract:With the widespread use of digital technology in China, digital finance, as an innovative product of the integration of digital technology and traditional finance, the impact of digital finance on improving the efficiency of technological innovation of enterprises is worth exploring.Based on information asymmetry theory and transaction cost theory, this paper explores the impact of digital finance on the technological innovation efficiency of technology-based SMEs. Based on the absorptive capacity theory, this paper explores the synergistic incentive effect of government R & D subsidies in the process of digital finance driving the technological innovation efficiency of technology-based SMEs. Based on the three-stage data envelopment analysis(DEA) model, the efficiency of technological innovation in tech-based SMEs in China from 2016 to 2020 is measured. The Tobit model is used to empirically test the impact mechanism of digital finance on the efficiency of technological innovation in tech-based SMEs. Finally, the synergistic effect of government R&D subsidies and digital finance is further explored. The research results indicate that the overall technological innovation efficiency of tech-based SMEs in China is not high, and there is a certain degree of volatility. Specifically, pure technological efficiency is significantly higher than scale efficiency; Digital finance can significantly improve the efficiency of technological innovation in tech-based SMEs; Government R&D subsidies and digital finance have a synergistic incentive effect in improving the efficiency of technological innovation in tech-based SMEs. Finally, based on the research results, this article proposes countermeasures and suggestions: tech-based SMEs should focus on the efficiency of technological innovation in their development process, and the government needs to play a role in guiding R&D subsidies and digital financial services to reinforce a synergistic incentive effect for tech-based SMEs.