High-quality development is an essential requirement of the Opinions of the State Council on Further Improving the Quality of Listed Companies. Goodwill and impairment are among the key factors that constrain firms’ high-quality development. Using big data sourced from Hithink Flush Information Network Co. Ltd., the present study selects business combinations not under common control of Chinese A-share companies between 2013 and 2020 as the research sample and constructs an econometric model based on the 3,509 observations in the research sample for ordinary least square regression analysis. The findings indicate that the market characteristics and company characteristics of the firms that are listed companies’ targets for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are key factors that influence goodwill and impairment. More specifically, these characteristics include whether the assets to be acquired belong to a listed company, asset valuation and pricing, the proportion of shares held by the largest shareholder, the proportion of shares held by institutional investors, shares held by the firm’s actual controller, and changes to the board of directors and senior management. How to reduce goodwill and reasonably control the impact of goodwill impairment on M&As are key factors that determine whether M&As and restructuring can positively contribute to increasing company performance. The results of this study indicate that to improve M&A efficiency, measures should be in place with regard to both dimensions of characteristics – market characteristics, such as the target firms for M&As, valuation and pricing, and payment tools, and firm characteristics, such as integration after the M&A, especially the corporate governance of the acquired firm – to normalise, refine, and intellectualise operations.