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In order to clarify the current situation of digital economy and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin, explore the coupling coordination and interaction between these two aspects and provide a reference for implementing ecological protection and high-quality development strategies in the Yellow River Basin, the interactive mechanism between digital economy and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin was analyzed theoretically. Based on the panel data 2011 to 2020, a total of 64 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin were selected. This paper measured the development level of the digital economy and high-quality development level, empirically examined the coupling coordination relationship between these two dimensions by using coupling coordination degree model and explored the interactive relationship between the two through a PVAR model. The results of the study show that a) the development level of the digital economy in the Yellow River Basin has shown improvement during the research period, however, it remains generally lower with significant regional differences, which forms a circle distribution pattern with Jinan, Zhengzhou, Xi’an, Taiyuan and Hohhot as the core cities, and has the spatial distribution characteristics of high in the east and low in the west. b) The imbalance of high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin is prominent, characterized by the polarization and a distinct circle structure. This has resulted in the formation of a high-value area with Jinan, Zhengzhou, Taiyuan, Xi’an, Lanzhou and other provincial capitals as the core cities. c) The coupling coordination degree between the digital economy and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin has been increasing annually, but the overall coordination level remains insufficient. The current implementation only achieves the transition from the mild imbalance to near imbalance levels, and the coordination degree also illustrates a pattern of lower reaches＞middle reaches＞upper reaches. d) Both the digital economy and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin are characterized by self-reliance. High-quality development plays a significant role in promoting the digital economy, while the role of the digital economy in enhancing high-quality development needs to be reinforced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]