Existing research on CEO characteristics mainly focuses on the correlation between CEO single characteristics and enterprise innovation.However,it does not solve the problem of how to predict corporate innovation from the perspective of CEO characteristics.This study investigates the relative importance of CEO personal background characteristics in predicting enterprise innovation by using machine learning modelXGBoost model.Based on the sample of A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2018,the research results show that: 1) on the whole,CEO personal characteristics have good prediction ability for enterprise innovation investment,but weak prediction ability for enterprise innovation performance ； 2) In the CEO personal background,overseas background and educational background have a strong ability to predict the enterprise's innovation investment ； 3) The influence of executive education on enterprise innovation investment shows a "nonlinear" characteristic,and the CEO's MBA education has no substantial effect on enterprise innovation performance.The results of this study enrich the theory of "the relationship between executive characteristics and enterprise innovation",and have important practical significance for the appointment decision of enterprise managers.