Based on the balanced panel data of 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities from 2011 to 2020，a theoretical mechanism for digital economy is constructed to drive high-quality economic development as well as conducts a series of empirical tests. The research finds that the digital economy has a positive correlation with high-quality economic development. The rationalization of industrial structure has not significantly promoted the high-quality economic development, while the upgrading of industrial structure has significantly improved the quality of China's economic development. At the same time, the rationalization and upgrading of industrial structure driven by the digital economy have improved the level of high-quality economic development in China.