Abstract: How to deal with the relationship between economic growth and environmental protection plays an important role in the regional integration of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). Based on the database of industrial pollutant emission and socioeconomic development, this paper analyzes the changing spatial pattern of the relative size and intensity of industrial pollutant in the YRD. We also pay particular attention to the impacts of economic transitions on the restructuring landscape of industrial pollution at city level. The result indicates that the relative emission size and intensity of pollutant emission presented a declining trend in the YRD. The volumes of industrial waste water and SO2 discharged have decreased by 13% and 24% respectively. The emission intensities of industrial waste water, SO2 and soot (dust) have decreased by 87%, 88% and 71% respectively. Second, the emission of industrial pollutants has still concentrated in the developed regions and some resource-based cities, such as cities along the “Hu (Shanghai)-Ning (Nanjing)” highway, “Hu-Hang (Hangzhou)-Yong (Ningbo)” highway, and Yangtze River. But, industrial pollution tended to relocate from the core to the peripheral areas, such as Northern Jiangsu and Central Anhui. However, the decreasing trend and spatial pattern obviously varied across different industrial pollutants. Third, the emission intensity of industrial pollutants was much higher in the peripheral YRD, and that of some core cities (e.g. Nanjing and Hangzhou) also presented an increasing trend during recent years. Forth, our modeling results suggest that the continuing economic transition plays an increasingly important role in the changing spatial pattern of industrial pollution in the YRD. In particular, industrial upgrading, firm innovation and the adjustment the structure of foreign investment have contributed to the pollution control and environmental protection. However, due to the different stages of economic transformation in various regions, there are significant spatial differences in the mechanisms of the above factors affecting industrial pollution. This study has uncovered the changing distribution of industrial pollution and its driving forces in the context of economic transition and region integration, and our findings will contribution to the intergovernmental cooperation about environmental protection in the YRD.