This study draws upon provincial-level panel data for China spanning 2013 to 2022. Employing both OLS and spatial econometric models, it examines how the low-altitude economy influences regional high-quality development and generates spillover effects on adjacent areas. The findings are as follows: ①Both the low-altitude economy and high-quality development exhibit a sustained upward trajectory over the study period, with low-level regions declining markedly and high-level regions increasing substantially. Both dimensions demonstrate pronounced spatial agglomeration. ②The lowaltitude economy exerts a statistically significant positive impact on high-quality development, accompanied by notable spatial spillover effects. The indirect effect coefficient substantially exceeds the direct effect coefficient. The direct effects in the eastern and central regions surpass those in the western and northeastern regions, with significant polarization evident. Notably, the spatial spillover effect in the central region fails to reach statistical significance. ③Each tier of the low-altitude industry generates a significant positive local effect on high-quality development. In terms of the total effect, a clear hierarchical structure emerges: the midstream manufacturing tier outperforms the upstream foundational tier, which in turn exceeds the downstream application tier. Significant spatial spillover effects are observed between the upstream foundational tier and the midstream manufacturing tier, whereas the spatial influence of the downstream application tier remains statistically insignificant.

low altitude economy, high quality development, spatial durbin model, spatial heterogeneity analysis, hierarchical spatial effect decomposition