The core feature of new-quality productivity is innovation, and the essence of innovation-driven development is new-quality talent-driven growth. Based on Marx's concept of collective workers, this paper explores the connotation of new-quality talents, and further deconstructs the logical mechanism and action mechanism of new-quality talents in promoting new quality productive forces from the three dimensions: compentence & literacy, functional orientation, and value embodiment. Using the panel data of 31 provinces (except Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) in China from 2012 to 2021 and using the two-way fixed effect model for empirical testing, it is found that: firstly, new-quality talents can play a positive role in the development of new quality productive forces. After a series of robustness tests, this conclusion is still hold. Secondly, new-quality talents can affect new quality productive forces by improving total factor productivity and promoting industrial structure upgrading. Thirdly, the impact of new-quality talents on new quality productive forces is heterogeneous, varying with regional disparities in artificial intelligence development, higher eduvation level, and location. Accordingly, this paper suggests deepening the reform of the system and mechanism of "attracting, educating, retaining and employing" new-quality talents, and explore the multi-dimensional path of developing new quality productive forces; in order to improve the system and mechanism of developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions, we should combine the educational endowment, scientific research foundation and institutional advantages of various regions to empower new-quality talents.