["Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis article examines the influence of the restricted export trade policy on technological innovation in Chinese high‐tech companies. The data of A‐share listed firms from 2006 to 2020 are selected as the sample from a micro‐enterprise level. The PSM‐DID method is used to research the innovation input and innovation output. The research findings conclude that the restricted export trade policy will promote high‐tech companies to enlarge their investment in R&D manpower and funds at the cost of the innovation output and quality. For the action mechanism, human capital flow effect and competitive effect play a significant positive intermediary role in innovation input, while learning effect and external cost effect play a negative intermediary role in innovation output. From the perspective of enterprise heterogeneity, enterprises with different sizes, equity structures and life cycles present differently in technological innovation in high‐tech industries when they are impacted by the restricted export trade policy.\n"]