Based on the 40 prefecture-level cities in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2005 to 2020, which was measured by Malmquist index, and the impact was analyzed of foreign trade on green total factor productivity(GTFP) . The results show that the efficiency of green economy in the Yangtze River Delta region is constantly improving, which is mainly driven by the progress of green technology. The empirical results show that trade opening has a significant positive impact on GTFP, and industrial structure is the mechanism of trade opening to improve GTFP. To this end, while improving the level of opening, should continuously promoting the upgrading and transformation of industrial structure.