The spatial auto-correlation analysis approach is used to examine the agglomeration features and geographical correlation of industrial agglomeration and pollutant discharge using 91 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2005 to 2020 as the research target. The Yellow River Basin and the upper, middle, and lower reaches were investigated for the effects of industrial agglomeration on industrial pollution emissions. The Dubin model of the spatial panel is used to investigate the drivers of industrial pollution from both indirect effects and direct effects. The findings indicated that ① the spatial pattern of industrial pollution agglomeration and industrial agglomeration in the Yellow River Basin has spatial convergence; ② the global clustering characteristics of industrial pollution in the Yellow River Basin are apparent. The global correlations of the three pollutants are industrial wastewater > industrial smoke and dust > industrial SO2; there is a spatial association between industrial agglomeration and pollution agglomeration, and there are differences in the spatial interconnection between industrial agglomeration and the accumulation of different pollutants; ③ from the overall point of view of the Yellow River Basin, industrial agglomeration will reduce the pollution levels of industrial wastewater, industrial SO2, and industrial smoke and dust. From the perspective of different regions, industrial agglomeration in the upper, middle, and lower reaches is conducive to the decline of industrial pollution, and the role is in the middle, downstream, and upstream in order from large to small; and ④ the Yellow River Basin’s industrial pollution is primarily caused by population agglomeration, industrial structure, environmental regulation, opening to the outside world, and economic development. Their effects on industrial wastewater, industrial SO2, industrial smoke, and dust pollution vary.

While the research on industrial agglomeration has received more attention, there has been little research on its spatial effect and impact mechanism from the micro perspective. On the basis of the industrial cluster data of 600 counties in the Yellow River basin (YRB) from 2010 to 2020, this article investigates the spatial effect of industrial agglomeration in the YRB from the two aspects of time and space via center of gravity analysis and exploratory spatial data analysis and uses the spatial econometric method to research the drivers of county-level industrial agglomeration. The results reveal the following. During the study period, the industrial center of gravity in the YRB presented a moving tendency from east to west, and 2016 was an important turning point. The county-level industrial distribution in the YRB showed an unbalanced trend, but its unbalanced degree exhibited a weakening trend. In terms of the temporal dimension, the county-level industrial agglomeration degree in the YRB presented a significant downward trend and emerged an evolution process of “diffusion–agglomeration–re-diffusion.” Specifically, it gradually diffused from Shandong and Henan to southern Shanxi and Shaanxi. In the spatial dimension, the county-level industrial agglomeration in the YRB was found to have conspicuous spatial autocorrelation, and the spatial spillover effect was prominent. The number of counties with high–high cluster gradually increased and shifted to the west, while the number of counties with low–low agglomeration exhibited a decreasing trend. The degree of government intervention restrains county-level industrial agglomeration, while the external industry level, regional market demand, and urbanization level promote county-level industrial agglomeration. In terms of river basins, in the upstream, the degree of government intervention and industrial structure adjustment inhibit industrial agglomeration, while the regional market demand and urbanization level promote industrial agglomeration. In the midstream, the degree of government intervention inhibits industrial agglomeration, while the external industry level, regional market demand, and industrial structure adjustment promote industrial agglomeration. In the downstream, the external industry level and industrial structure adjustment restrain industrial agglomeration, while the regional market demand and urbanization level promote industrial agglomeration. The conclusions provide a significant reference for the industrial transformation and high-quality economic development of the YRB.