Abstract In the tough stage of transition development, it is necessary for Shanghai industrial sector to take measures like R&D and technology import to improve energy efficiency, which also contributes to carbon emission reduction, reduction of the external dependence of energy consumption and the achievement of green development. This paper estimates energy efficiency of Shanghai industrial sector based on historical data of industrial enterprises in Shanghai and analyzes the mechanism and level of the influence of factors like R&D and technology import on energy efficiency of the industrial enterprises. The results show that the internal R&D investment of enterprises have a significant positive impact on energy efficiency of collective and private enterprises in Shanghai. Foreign investment has positive spill-over effect and leads to energy efficiency improvement for foreign-invested enterprises in Shanghai. Besides, the deeper the enterprises engage in export trade, the higher the energy intensity and the lower the energy efficiency will be, which implies that the export-oriented enterprises are more likely to produce and export energy-intensive products and suffer from energy efficiency loss. So, it is not only necessary to encourage internal R&D innovation of enterprises, but also important to implement transformation and upgrading of enterprises in the value chain of international trade.