Abstract: Design-driven innovation is a brand-new innovation model that acquiring competitive advantage by predicting trends of socio cultural development and endowing product with radical language meaning. Besides, it emphasis on integrating innovation elements from open innovation network. Based on above logic, this paper combines network and innovation theories and establishes a theoretical model of ‘network heterogeneity – design-driven innovation – innovation performance’. Data from manufacturing enterprises shows that, 1) design-driven innovation is a networking process of various stakeholders and knowledge, and can be constituted by listen, interpretation and expression; 2) network heterogeneity promotes innovation performance, specifically, knowledge heterogeneity and partner heterogeneity play different roles; 3) design-driven innovation acts as mediating role in the main effect of ‘network heterogeneity and innovation performance’.