This paper examines the impact of digital economy development on urban resilience in China using data from 252 cities between 2011 and 2020. The study employs the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method to measure urban resilience and digital economy levels. Results show that digital economy development significantly enhances urban resilience at the 1% significance level, with the effect remaining valid after endogeneity and robustness tests. The mechanisms include optimizing urban distributional effects and promoting industrial structure upgrades. The MMQR model and threshold model reveal a nonlinear relationship, with urban resilience development levels in higher quartiles experiencing greater impacts. Two threshold values (0.026 and 0.082) indicate nonlinear effects. Spatial effects are also verified, and heterogeneity analysis shows that high-class cities, key city clusters, and regions like eastern and western China benefit most. The study contributes by offering a new perspective, detailed indicators, and comprehensive analysis of the relationship between digital economy and urban resilience. Theoretical mechanisms suggest that digital economy improves resilience through economic, social, ecological, and infrastructural channels. Hypotheses 1-5 are tested, showing that digital economy positively affects urban resilience, with nonlinear and spatial spillover effects. Heterogeneity analysis confirms that the impact varies by city class, cluster, and region. The study provides insights for enhancing urban resilience and promoting sustainable development through digital economy growth.This paper examines the impact of digital economy development on urban resilience in China using data from 252 cities between 2011 and 2020. The study employs the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method to measure urban resilience and digital economy levels. Results show that digital economy development significantly enhances urban resilience at the 1% significance level, with the effect remaining valid after endogeneity and robustness tests. The mechanisms include optimizing urban distributional effects and promoting industrial structure upgrades. The MMQR model and threshold model reveal a nonlinear relationship, with urban resilience development levels in higher quartiles experiencing greater impacts. Two threshold values (0.026 and 0.082) indicate nonlinear effects. Spatial effects are also verified, and heterogeneity analysis shows that high-class cities, key city clusters, and regions like eastern and western China benefit most. The study contributes by offering a new perspective, detailed indicators, and comprehensive analysis of the relationship between digital economy and urban resilience. Theoretical mechanisms suggest that digital economy improves resilience through economic, social, ecological, and infrastructural channels. Hypotheses 1-5 are tested, showing that digital economy positively affects urban resilience, with nonlinear and spatial spillover effects. Heterogeneity analysis confirms that the impact varies by city class, cluster, and region. The study provides insights for enhancing urban resilience and promoting sustainable development through digital economy growth.