Abstract: With the expansion of Dali's opening up in the early 1990s, the trend of direct foreign investment in Dali is becoming more
and more obvious. As an important economic hub in western Yunnan province, the flow of foreign capital in Dali has played an
important role in the construction of the economic zone in western Yunnan. The actual utilization of FDI in Dali Prefecture is not high
in Yunnan Province, and the counties（cities）in the region have problems such as small scale, great differences and poor stability.
Dali Prefecture urgently needs to seek new foreign investment attraction strategies, identify its own advantages and characteristics,
explore characteristic industries and build corresponding industrial clusters, enhance their own competitiveness, and thus promote
regional economic and social development.

Key words: direct foreign investment, geographical distribution, regional imbalance