Based on the characteristics of strategic emerging industries and high-quality development,an evaluation index system was constructed, and China’s provincial panel data from 2013 to 2022 was selected. Firstly, the entropy weight TOPSIS(technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution) method was used to measure the level of high-quality development of strategic emerging industries, and analyze their regional differences and dynamic evolution characteristics. Then, the Moran index was used to test spatial correlation. Finally, a spatial econometric model was used to explore the relevant factors in depth. It is found that the overall high-quality development level of strategic emerging industries in China shows a steady upward trend, but there is a clear regional imbalance, roughly showing a high in the east and low in the west. There is a positive spatial correlation of the industries in China, and the overall spatial distribution shows a clustering trend of “high-high” and “low-low”. The explanatory variables of technological innovation, economic development level, investment and construction, human capital, and openness have a significant positive effect on the improvement of the high-quality development level of the industries. Based on research findings, rational suggestions are proposed to enhance the competitiveness of strategic emerging industries and provide strong industrial support for the development of new quality productivity.