The purpose of this study is to analyze the educational performance level of higher education in 30 provinces of China, to analyze the spatial distribution and changing trend of educational performance level, and to identify the influencing factors.Based on the theory of higher education performance, this study initially adhered to the principle of indicator establishment to construct an evaluation model for the performance of higher education in China. The model was applied to analyze the current state of China's higher education performance using the entropy method, which is most suitable for assessing performance levels. The spatial econometric model of China's higher education was used to examine the spatial correlation and clustering of educational performance. This model was also utilized to investigate the factors affecting the performance of higher education in China.The main findings are as follows. First, the level of higher education performance in the eastern region is the highest and is growing the fastest; the performance level in the northeastern region is close to the national average with minor fluctuations; while the central and western regions have performance levels below the national average, with the western region being the lowest and experiencing slow growth, widening the gap with other regions. Second, there is a spatial correlation in the performance levels of higher education in China. Regions with HH(high-high) clusters are mostly in the eastern provinces, while those with LL(low-low) clusters are predominantly in the western provinces, indicating a significant disparity in the distribution of higher education performance levels across different regions. Third, government support for higher education, regional economic development levels, human capital stock in higher education, and regional openness have a significant positive impact on the performance levels of higher education. In contrast, the marketization level of higher education has a negative impact on performance levels. These findings contribute to addressing the imbalance in China's higher education performance levels and promoting the improvement of talent cultivation in Chinese higher education.