As the core production factor in the digital economy era, data element is a new engine to promote the innovation of manufacturing enterprises. This paper measures the matching degree of data elements and human capital, and empirically analyzes its impact on the innovation quality of listed manufacturing companies and its mechanism. It is found that the matching of data elements and human capital significantly promotes the innovation of manufacturing enterprises. However, individual data elements or human capital do not have significant innovation incentive effect. The release of innovation dividend emphasizes the role of the combination of data elements and human capital elements. The analysis of heterogeneity found that the matching of data elements and human capital only has an innovation incentive effect for enterprises in the central region, labor-intensive enterprises, and enterprises with a low degree of financial restraint. The mechanism test found that the matching of data elements and human capital can promote the innovation quality of manufacturing enterprises by enhancing enterprise liquidity reserve, stimulating market demand and improving supply chain efficiency. In further analysis, it is found that the matching of data elements and human capital has an inverted“U”nonlinear impact on the innovation quality of manufacturing industry, but the samples in the decline stage of the inverted "U" curve account for only about 2.4% of the total samples, and about 97.6% of the samples reflect the innovation incentive effect of the matching of data elements and human capital. The crowding-out effect of the living cost is an important reason why the degree of system coordination inhibits the improvement of innovation quality. The research conclusion of this paper provides theoretical basis and suggestions for the government to use the coordinated development of data elements and human capital elements according to local conditions and time to release innovation dividends in the process of promoting digital construction.