Based on the sample of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share state-owned listed companies from 2005 to 2020, this paper discusses the influence of government environmental audit on the quality of green innovation of state-owned enterprises and its mechanism. Research shows that government environmental audit can significantly improve the quality of green innovation in state-owned enterprises, and this conclusion is still valid after overcoming problems such as endogeneity. The mechanism analyses show that improving the intensity and sustainability of environmental attention at the enterprise and government levels is the key path for the government environmental audit to improve the quality of green innovation of state-owned enterprises. Further analyses show that the micro characteristics of enterprises and the macro-control of the government will affect the effect of environmental audit on improving the quality of green innovation of state-owned enterprises. Specifically, when enterprises have more senior executives with environmental protection background and are more active in fulfilling environmental responsibilities, the positive impact of government environmental audit on the quality of green innovation of state-owned enterprises is more obvious. With less government intervention and more subsidies, government environmental audit can more effectively motivate state-owned enterprises to carry out high-quality green innovation activities. In addition, with the support of the government environmental audit, high-quality green innovation can better improve the green total factor productivity of state-owned enterprises and create conditions for the development of green and low-carbon economy.