Abstract:This paper selects the annals data of 48 Chinese listed commercial banks during 2003-2007, empirically tests the relationship between the corporate governance and innovation ability of banks. The result shows that there is a significantly negative correlation between the shareholding proportion of the biggest shareholder and bank innovation ability, but it can be released by dispersing stock ownership. There is also a positive correlation between the board size and the proportion of independent directors or innovation ability of banks, and the incentive mechanism of the high managers can significantly raise the innovation ability of banks.