“Machine replacement” is not only one of the driving forces of high-quality development of manufacturing industry, but also an key factor of enterprise innovation ability. In this process, can robots improve the innovation ability of enterprises? We use the data of China Employer—Employee Survey (CEES) in 2018 to investigate the effect mechanism of robots on enterprise innovation. The empirical results show that robots significantly promotes enterprise innovation. On the premise of controlling enterprise characteristics and other factors, the R&D expenditure of enterprises using industrial robots increases by 1.21 times and the effective patents increases by 22%; Further mechanism test shows industrial robots promote enterprise innovation by improving management ability, which is specifically reflected in improving enterprise management efficiency and digital management ability. We verify the impact effect and mechanism of industrial robots on enterprise innovation, and provide a path and method for enterprises to realize transformation and upgrading by introducing industrial robots.