Since the reform and opening up, China has promoted economic development by performing non-equilibrium development strategy, which refers to cultivate and exert the leading role of central city as an economic growth pole in regional economic development. Whether this development model that relies on the central city’s leading role is sustainable is worthy of in-depth study. Based on the growth pole theory and the new economic geography theory, an econometric model considering spatial effects is constructed, and statistical data related to 31 central cities and 248 surrounding cities are taken as the sample to conduct an empirical analysis of the siphon effect in urban development. The empirical results show that central city has a siphon effect on surrounding cities in the process of economic growth, and the industrial convergence between central and surrounding cities can strengthen the siphon effect, while economic distance between them has no significant moderating effect on it. This research provides a theoretical basis and strategic reference for promoting coordinated regional development.