Abstract: Based on the logical relationship between population urbanization rate and Industrial upgrading, this paper establishes the index of industrial upgrading by using the cross-sectional data of 2 271 counties in 1990, 2000 and 2010, so as to analyze the temporal and spatial differences of the coupling relationship between them. The results showed that: (1) The static coupling coordination degree between population urbanization and industrial upgrading in China’s counties increased with the passage of time, and showed significant spatial distribution characteristics of decreasing order from east to west. (2) The dynamic coupling characteristics of population urbanization and industrial upgrading could be divided into four types: recession, lagging, advanced and growth. The transformation between different types also reflected the space-time dependence. The eastern part of Hu Huanyong Line has mainly transformed from “advanced” to “growth” while the western part is just the opposite. （3) The average altitude and the proportion of population with high school education or above have significant influence on the coupling relationship at different stages,in addition, location conditions, population and employment, non-agricultural degree and other factors have an impact on the coupling relationship, and the influence is gradually significant.