With the listed manufacturing enterprises of A in 2013—2017 as the research object, an analysis has been made of the effect of management ability on innovation investment and innovation performance, followed by a further study on whether the relationship between management ability, innovation investment and innovation performance can be adjusted by equity incentive and executive human capital as adjusting variables. The empirical research shows that the stronger the management ability, the stronger the defensive ability will be, and the greater the inhibition effect on the innovation investment and innovation performance; the equity incentive has a regulatory effect on the inhibition effect caused by the management, thus negatively alleviating the inhibition effect of the management ability on the innovation investment and innovation performance. Executive human capital can negatively regulate the inhibition effect of management ability on innovation performance, but it has no significant effect on the adjustment of innovation input caused by management ability. In view of the above research results, it is suggested that equity incentive and internal control should be combined to improve the innovation investment and innovation performance of enterprises; meanwhile, the heterogeneity of management should be appropriately increased, with the external market personnel added in time according to the operation needs, so as to improve the innovation performance of enterprises.