Abstract: In recent years, the Chinese government has provided massive research and development（R&D）support to enterprises. How to improve the subsidy efficiency and promote enterprise innovation has become a hot-spot issue. This paper divides R&D subsidies into two types: pre-subsidy and post-subsidy. Based on the data of Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2020, the paper compares the incentive effects of the two types of subsidies and analyzes the impact of post-subsidy intensity on innovation output by PSM and GPSM methods. The empirical research shows that the enterprises receiving both types of subsidies had higher innovation output than those receiving only one; the higher the post-subsidy intensity, the higher the innovation output; for state-owned enterprises or the enterprises in developed region, only post-subsidies promoted the innovation output, while for private enterprises or the enterprises in less developed areas, both types of subsidies promoted enterprise innovation. It is concluded that R&D subsidies can stimulate enterprise innovation, but different subsidy types have different incentive effects on different enterprises in different regions. The government should treat them differently and implement targeted policies.

Key words: R&D subsidy, post-subsidy, enterprise innovation, innovative atmosphere, PSM