Examined the effect of national hightech zones in China on urban innovation capability using method of DID.The analysis is based on the panel data of 336 cities in China from 2001 to 2016, using urban innovation capability index provided by “FIND Report on City and Industrial Innovation in China”.The results show that the 〖JP〗establishment of national hightech zones can significantly improve urban innovation capability, and this effect gradually increased by year.Furthermore, the effect is influenced by endowed comparative advantages.With comparative advantage in resource endowments, the national hightech zones plays a more important role in promoting urban innovation capability.There is evident heterogeneity for agglomeration and selection effects in national hightech zones.The conclusions are confirmed by robustness test.