Based on the data of 269 cities at and above the prefecture level in China, this paper takes the construction of talent innovation highland as a quasi-natural experiment to study the influence mechanism of the construction of talent innovation highland on the high-quality development of urban economy. Empirical results show that: talent innovation highland construction can significantly promote the high-quality development level of urban economy, and the innovation ability of a city has a positive regulating effect between the construction of talent innovation highland and the high-quality development of urban economy. The heterogeneity results show that there is spatial heterogeneity in the impact of talent innovation highland construction on the high-quality development of urban economy, and the construction of talent innovation highland has a more obvious effect on the high-quality economic development of central and western cities and larger cities. Further mechanism research shows that the construction of talent innovation highland promotes the high-quality development of urban economy by improving the level of urban investment in science and technology.