Abstract: Reverse investment targeting the high-end segments of the global value chain holds signifi cant importance for achieving reverse independent technological innovation in the manufacturing sector. Based on provincial-level manufacturing data from 2009 to 2022, this study integrates the international technology spillover model with the productivity catch-up model to empirically examine the eff ects of reverse independent technological innovation. To address potential endogeneity issues, the study employs interactive fi xed eff ects models, system GMM models, and instrumental variable approaches. Furthermore, it constructs mediation and moderation models to explore the specifi c mechanisms through which the eff ects of reverse independent technological innovation in the manufacturing sector are realized. The results reveal that reverse investment along the global value chain signifi cantly enhances reverse independent technological innovation in manufacturing. Such investment promotes the realization of reverse independent innovation eff ects by accelerating technological progress, increasing R&D investment, and enhancing revenues from new product sales. Moreover, the volume of technology transactions and the share of banking financial institutions positively moderate the innovation eff ects, while the upgrading of the industrial chain exerts a negative moderating eff ect. Accordingly, policy recommendations are proposed from the perspectives of optimizing reverse investment strategies, improving the innovation ecosystem, and enhancing the financial empowerment system, with the aim of strengthening the capacity for reverse independent technological innovation in the manufacturing sector.