The study selected panel data from 30 provinces and cities in China from 2017 to 2023, quantified the cultural industry policy and its efficiency level using the PMC index model and the DEA-Malmquist index method, respectively, and then thoroughly investigated the impact of the cultural industry policy using the spatial Durbin econometric model. The regression coefficient of the direct effect of cultural industry policy, 0.0763, meets the significance test at a 1% confidence level. It shows that cultural industry policy can promote the development of the cultural industry. The spillover effect of cultural industry policies on the efficiency of the cultural industry is positive, suggesting that the cultural industry policies of neighboring regions can improve the efficiency of the local cultural industry. Further research reveals that the stronger the degree of marketization, the more the cultural industry policy promotes the efficiency of the local cultural industry, and it can positively influence the efficiency of the cultural industry in neighboring regions. Therefore, regions should pay attention to inter-regional balanced development when vigorously developing cultural industry policies and establish a sound, unified, open, competitive, and orderly market system to help realize the high-quality development of the cultural industry.