Abstract: This paper takes Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed during 2010 to 2020 as samples, investigate the internal mechanism and the influence of returnee executives on the digital transformation of enterprises and its mechanism. The results show that: (1) Returnee executives are helpful to promote the digital transformation of enterprises, and this conclusion is still valid after considering endogeneity and various robustness tests; (2) The mechanism shows that the returnee executives mainly promote the digital transformation of enterprises by improving enterprise human capital level, learning and absorption ability and ESG responsibility; (3) Heterogeneity analysis shows that the promotion effect is more significant in SME and enterprises with low financial asset allocation efficiency. The conclusion of this paper not only enriches and expands the upper echelons theory and the related research on the influencing factors of digital transformation of enterprises, but also helps to provide empirical evidence for enterprises to adapt to the trend of digital development and speed up the process of digital transformation of enterprises.