The pilot audit of natural resources assets departure for leading cadres plays an important role in reducing local environmental pollution, but does its pollution reduction effect come from audit driven pollution transfer or from the governance effect generated by auditing? Different answers have a significant impact on how to carry out audit work more effectively as we comprehensively promote the departure audit of natural resources assets for leading cadres. This article delves into the issue of pollution transfer driven by the departure audit of natural resources assets of leading cadres, using empirical methods such as multi time point double difference method, and manually compiled pilot data on the departure audit of natural resource assets of leading cadres. The main conclusion is that the pilot audit of natural resources assets departure for leading cadres can reduce local environmental pollution, and its pollution reduction effect is not due to audit driven pollution transfer, but rather the governance effect generated by audit, which is still valid under various robustness tests. Further research has shown that the governance effect has a certain degree of attenuation, and although audit driven pollution transfer is not significant, it is still worth being vigilant. Due to the spillover effect of audit supervision, the pilot audit of natural resources assets departure for leading cadres will also reduce pollution in surrounding areas. Therefore, this article proposes to build an evaluation index system that conforms to local characteristics and is based on pollution sources, enhance the audit expectations of local governments and enterprises, and reduce opportunistic behavior in transferring pollution.