Abstract: The new generation of digital and intelligent technology is developing rapidly. As a product of the deep integration of digital and intelligent technology and manufacturing technology, the artificial intelligence technology represented by industrial robots has broad application prospects and is the key to promoting the fourth industrial revolution. According to data provided by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), China's industrial robot sales reached 168,400 units in 2020 with a growth rate of nearly 20%, exceeding the total number of robots installed in Europe and the Americas, and has become the backbone of the development of the robotics industry at the world level. Industrial robots can help companies reduce costs and improve efficiency, and their rapid development has greatly boosted the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry. General Secretary Xi pointed out that "the integration of a new generation of information technology, robots, and intelligent manufacturing technology is accelerating." At the same time, China proposed to adhere to the core position of innovation in the overall modernization drive, enhance the technological innovation capabilities of enterprises, stimulate the innovation vitality of talents, and transform from the traditional "factor-driven" to "innovation-driven" development model. How to empower the digital and intelligent transformation of enterprises and promote enterprise innovation has become a major proposition. Specifically, industrial robots promote enterprise innovation through "learning by doing", knowledge spillovers, improving labor structure, and forming competitive advantages. What’s more, industrial robots can promote the innovation of manufacturing enterprises by increasing the number of high-quality labor and improving the skill level of the existing labor. This paper selects China's industrial robot data and listed company innovation data from 2011 to 2019 as research samples, empirically explores the impact of industrial robots on enterprise innovation, and analyzes the mediating role of human capital. The research results show that industrial robots have a promotion effect on enterprise innovation, and this promotion effect remains stable after multiple tests. Further research finds that human capital plays a partial intermediary role in the improvement of the innovation level of enterprises. Industrial robots improve the level of the human capital of enterprises from two dimensions of increasing high-quality labor and improving the skill level of existing employees, thereby improving the innovation level of enterprises. This paper further examines the changes in the effect of industrial robots on the improvement of the innovation level of enterprises when some properties of the enterprises themselves change. The group regression is carried out on the type of enterprise ownership and financing constraints, and it is found that in state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and other enterprises, industrial robots have a significant positive impact on the innovation and invention patents and total patent output of enterprises. The industrial robot has no significant effect on the invention patent output of enterprises with large financing constraints, and the industrial robot has a significant improvement effect on the invention patent output and total patent output of enterprises with small and small financing constraints. This paper puts forward corresponding policy recommendations based on theoretical analysis and empirical research results. This paper promotes the research of industrial robots on enterprise innovation, and has important implications for helping enterprises to transform and upgrade digitally and intelligently, and promote the competitiveness of industries empowered by digital and intelligent technology.