[Objective] Conduct research on the mechanism of promoting industrial structure upgrading and empowering resource-based cities with green economic efficiency through new quality productivity, providing theoretical reference and policy support for promoting regional green transformation and high-quality development. [Methods] This paper measures the green economic efficiency of resource-based cities from 2006 to 2022 based on Super-SBM model, uses kernel density estimation and Theil index decomposition method to study the spatial-temporal differentiation characteristics and evolution process of green economic efficiency of resource-based cities, and analyzes the relationship between green economic efficiency and new quality productivity through panel regression model. [Results] ①The green economy efficiency of resource-based cities is bounded by 2012, showing a trend of first rising and then decreasing at a low level, and then maintaining a low level and rising after 2015;②Resource-based cities show obvious regional differences in green economy efficiency, and this difference continues to expand, mainly due to the significant differences within the four regions. High and low efficiency cities have significant spatial agglomeration, and the green economic efficiency of resource-based cities under different urban life cycles also presents the characteristics of "growth type > mature type > regeneration type > decline type";③The new quality productivity has a significant positive impact on the green economic efficiency of resource-based cities, and this impact exhibits heterogeneity among the four major regions, cities with different life cycles, and resource endowments. [Conclusion] By promoting the decoupling of resource endowments in resource-based cities, optimizing and upgrading industrial structures, and vigorously developing green technologies, the empowering role of new quality productivity in green economic development can be effectively enhanced, providing an important path for achieving high-quality and sustainable regional economic development.