The beautiful ecological environment carries people’s expectations for a better life in the new era.Using the “demandwillingnessability” analytical framework, this study investigates the economic impact of public environmental pressure on corporate innovation. It is found that environmental protection pressure from the public promotes enterprises innovation, reflected in both the increased quantity and improved quality of innovation.High public visibility boosts the positive impact of public environmental protection pressure on enterprise innovation.From the perspective of transmission mechanism, this promoting effect is achieved through mechanisms such as enhancing enterprise environmental governance needs through government environmental law enforcement, developing longterm willingness through orientation, and facilitating knowledge spillover of environmental technology.Depending on specific situations, enterprises strongly constrained by organizational rigidity enjoy a more significant promoting effect, whereas state ownership and employment dependence can weaken the effect. The findings of this study are of great value for deepening our understanding of the relationship between environmental governance and economic transformation and upgrading.