Abstract: High level opening up is the way to achieve high quality economic development. Taking the prefecture-level cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt as the research object, this paper studies the evolution characteristics and influencing factors of the two-way linked opening pattern of the Yangtze River Economic Belt based on the data of international freight forwarding enterprises since 2010, using the methods of urban networks. The study finds that the two-way opening pattern of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is being accelerated, yet westward opening still needs to be strengthened, and the overall openness of the upper, middle and lower reaches differs significantly. The Yangtze River Economic Belt’s role in opening up as a traction to other regions of the country has been strengthening. The overall two-way opening linkage intensity in the downstream region is consistently at the highest level, while the upstream region shows the fastest growth in both internal and external two-way opening linkage. The overall opening linkage between the downstream and upstream areas within the Yangtze River Economic Belt is the highest, with Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang being highlighted as eastward opening gateways. The opening linkage between the midstream and upstream regions is always the weakest, and cities above the sub-provincial level and provincial capitals take a leading role in the two-way opening development of the economic belt. The demand for local economic development, the improvement of innovation and business service capacity, the establishment of high-level platforms, and the enhancement of comprehensive transportation conditions are the main influencing factors to promote the two-way linked opening of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.