The development of five-type economy is the inevitable choice for the five major new cities of Shanghai to promote economic development，increase attractiveness，expand radiation，and build an independent comprehensive node city. This paper analyzes the foundation and challenges of the five major new cities to develop the five-type economy，and finds that the new cities have already possessed a certain industrial foundation and initially formed a distinctive industrial system. However，the economic and population scale of the five major new cities are relatively small，the concentration of talents and headquarters is not enough，and the transportation infrastructure needs to be improved. Finally，policy recommendations are put forward for the five major new cities to develop the five-type economy from continuously optimizing the talent development environment，developing modern service industry，promoting the agglomeration of headquarters，creating a flow economy platform combining online and offline，and building comprehensive transportation hub.