The ecological protection and high-quality development strategy of the Yellow River Basin is a major strategy in China，and the biggest development opportunity for the provinces and cities in the basin during the 14^th Five-Year Plan period. It is an urgent task to study the economic and ecological situation of the 9 provinces in the basin，to analyze the pain points and difficulties in their development，and to propose a path to promote ecological restoration and industrial transformation. This paper discusses the four major problems limiting the development of the basin，and proposes workable implementation strategies by province.