Abstract: Central cities, with strong agglomeration and radiation functions, are not only an important growth pole to drive regional economic development but also an engine to promote regional coordinated development. To build the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into a world-class bay area and achieve high-quality development, it is essential that the four major central cities of Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou and Shenzhen play the leading role. Based on the analysis of the agglomeration and diffusion effects of central cities, regional density function, gravity model and fracture point model are constructed respectively to analyze the spatial distribution characteristics of the population and economy of the central cities in the Greater Bay Area. It is found that the external economic relations and radiation effects of the four central cities have been significantly enhanced, but there are problems of excessive concentration and uneven spatial distribution, and their driving effects on other non-central cities need to be further improved. Under the background of constructing a new development pattern of "dual circulation strategy", the system should be promoted in three aspects: perfecting the mechanism of cross-border collaboration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, deepening market integration to stimulate agglomeration and diffusion effects, and creating a growth pole on the west coast to optimize the spatial structure of the Greater Bay Area. Innovation and policy implementation will give better play to the leading role of central cities in the Greater Bay Area and promote the high-quality development of the entire Area.