Abstract: With patent analysis method, the technical innovation capacity of China’s atmospheric environmental protection industry was studied from perspectives of output trend, field distribution, spatial distribution and applicants, according to patent data of air pollution abatement from 2000 to 2018. The study found: the technical innovation capacity of China’s atmospheric environmental protection industry had been steadily improved, especially the implementation of planning and policies such as the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution had effectively promoted the technical innovation of atmospheric environmental protection industry; in recent years, the technical output of bag dust removal, indoor air purification, organic waste gas treatment and other industries had increased significantly; the technical innovation capacity of China’s atmospheric environmental protection industry presented a distribution pattern of “east high-west low”, and the technical innovation output was mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and other regions; the main technological innovation bodies in China’s atmospheric environmental protection industry were enterprises, whose technological innovation capability was obviously less than that of giant enterprises in the United States, Japan and Germany. To solve the problems found in the study, the countermeasures and suggestions to promote the improvement of technical innovation capacity of China’s atmospheric environmental protection industry were put forward, including the formation of policies driving for the technical innovation of atmospheric environmental protection, the support for private enterprises engaged in atmospheric environmental protection, and the promotion of in-depth collaboration among industry, academia and research institutes.