Abstract: This paper aims to research the impact of reverse technology spillover on the carbon emission intensity of home countries and whether the independent technological innovation of home countries can play an intermediary role in the process of reverse technology spillover affecting carbon emissions. Based on the provincial panel data of China from 2005 to 2017, this paper measures the intensity of reverse technology spillover and carbon emission intensity in each province. Preliminary analysis shows that the distribution of carbon emission intensity in China is high in the northwest and southwest regions, and low in the eastern coastal areas. For example, the carbon emission intensity in Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Shanxi and Guizhou is always at the forefront. Over time, the carbon emissions in China show a gradual downward trend. Next, this paper uses the spatial Durbin model and the intermediary effect model to test the influence and mechanism of reverse technology spillover effect on carbon emission intensity in the process of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in China. The test results show that reverse technology spillover will significantly inhibit the local carbon emission intensity, and it will also inhibit the carbon emission intensity of surrounding areas through spatial effect. In addition, independent technological innovation acts as an incomplete intermediary variable, and the parent companies in local area can generate leverage effect and positive spatial spillover on the development of green technology in surrounding areas. At the same time, the results of heterogeneity test show that the inhibitory effect of reverse technology spillover on carbon emission intensity is affected by the differences in geographic location, economic development level and investment host countries. The reverse technology spillover effect of the eastern region can significantly inhibit the carbon emission intensity of the local area and the surrounding areas, and independent technological innovation can act as an intermediary variable. In the midwest regions, reverse technology spillover can only inhibit carbon emissions in local area, but it will worsen the carbon emissions in the surrounding areas, there was no significant improvement in carbon emissions in the Midwest on total effects, and the intermediary mechanism is no longer obvious. For economically developed regions, spatial spillover mechanism and intermediary mechanism are still obvious, and the effect of core explanatory variables is basically the same as that in the eastern region. The reverse technology spillover in underdeveloped areas will disaster the carbon emissions of surrounding areas, and independent technological innovation has not played a mediating effect. When the host country of investment is part of the "Belt and Road" countries, reverse technology spillovers can still restrain the carbon emission intensity of China, but independent technological innovation no longer plays an intermediary effect. In the robustness test, this paper presents three methods including replacement variables, replacement space weight matrix and adding interaction terms. The test results of the main variables are basically consistent with the previous ones, which proves the credibility of the results.This paper provides a theoretical reference for China's low-carbon economic development, and provides guidance for the early realization of carbon neutrality tasks.