Based on the data of Industrial robots in China released by IFR database, this paper scientifically measured the level of industrial robot application and income gap between urban and rural areas in 31 provincial regions in China from 2007 to 2019. Furthermore, the mechanism of industrial robot application on urban-rural income gap is described in detail. The result show that, the application of industrial robots has significantly aggravated the income gap between urban and rural areas in China. Therefore, effectively dealing with the urban-rural income gap effect of robot application can provide important support for the coordinated progress of high-quality growth and common prosperity strategy. The application of industrial robots will aggravate the income gap between urban and rural residents in China through two channels: improving the advanced level of employment technology structure and capital profit margin. Moreover, the application of industrial robots in regions with high labor income share has a significant effect on the urban-rural income gap. The application of industrial robot is beneficial to stimulate the evolution power of servitization and rationalization of industrial structure. It also has a catalytic effect on the collaborative agglomeration of manufacturing and producer services. Therefore, the Chinese government should timely and accurately predict the dynamic impact of industrial robot applications on China’s current and future economic and social development for a long period of time. While enjoying the dividends of the era of artificial intelligence, we must also stabilize its negative impact on the urban-rural income gap.