Abstract: Purpose/Significance In the process of rapid urbanization in China, there has been a phenomenon of urban sprawl in which the built-up areas increases faster than the population growth and the urban fringe extends outward. It is urgent to grasp the basic characteristics of urban sprawl and put forward targeted suggestions on urban sprawl governance strategies suitable for China. Design/Methodology With remotely sensed data to measure the urban sprawl index in China, this study takes 110 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt as examples to empirically examine the influence mechanism of industrial development on urban sprawl. Conclusions/Findings The development of the secondary industry continuously promotes urban sprawl while the development of the tertiary industry effectively restrains urban sprawl. The expansion of industrial scale and the development of industrial agglomeration have obvious spatial spillover effects on the urban sprawl in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The impact of industrial development on urban sprawl in the Yangtze River Economic Belt has significant regional heterogeneity. Industrial development in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River has greater impact on urban sprawl, and industrial development has spatial spillover effect on urban sprawl in neighboring regions. The single-center city model that overemphasizes market factors is not fully applicable to China. Urban sprawl caused by industrial development has mutual “imitation” and “contagion” effects in neighboring areas.