Innovation is an effective way for coal enterprises to achieve high-quality development and "double carbon" goals. This paper selects coal listed companies from 2014 to 2020 as samples, measures the innovation efficiency of coal listed companies by improving Richardson's investment expenditure model, and analyzes the impact of executive compensation stickiness on them and the regulatory role of board characteristics in the middle. The research finds that: executive compensation stickiness is significantly negatively correlated with the innovation efficiency of coal enterprises; The size of the board of directors and the independence of the board of directors negatively regulate the role of executive compensation stickiness on innovation efficiency. The research conclusions provide new ideas for the improvement of innovation efficiency of coal enterprises, and have certain enlightenment significance for coal enterprises to achieve high-quality development.