Scientific and technological innovation alongside public science education serve as the “dual engines” driving innovation-led development. As a pioneering region for high-quality development in China, Zhejiang Province has cultivated distinctive experiences in promoting the synergistic evolution of these two domains. This paper focuses on the core issue of how Zhejiang facilitates itscoordinated advancement and explores the underlying mechanisms. Employing empirical analysis combined with case studies, This paper utilize the entropy method and the coupling coordination model to quantitatively assess the coupling coordination degree across Zhejiang's 11 prefecture-level cities in 2023. Through integrating practical case studies from the province, The research identify the intrinsic mechanisms governing their synergistic evolution while revealing existing challenges: uneven resource allocation between innovation and popularization, low conversion efficiency, insufficient public engagement, and lagging evaluation mechanisms. Systematically summarizing these intrinsic mechanisms, This paper propose targeted improvement recommendations based on our findings, This includes four aspects: establishing a cross-regional resource coordination and compensation mechanism, establishing a collaborative transformation system for scientific research andsciencepopularization, cultivating a sciencepopularization ecosystem involving multiple entities, and improving dynamic evaluation and governance feedback mechanisms. offering transferable insights for other Chinese regions pursuing coordinated “dual-engine” development.