The urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River holds a significant position in China's regional development pattern, and its carbon unlocking level is of great significance for promoting the green development of the Yangtze River economic belt and helping to achieve the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Taking 27 cities in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River from 2011 to 2022 as the research objects, using methods such as social network analysis and spatial Durbin model, this paper constructs an index system of carbon unlocking level from four dimensions: industry, system, technology, and culture, and explores the spatial association network and influencing factors of carbon unlocking. The research results show that: ① In terms of the evolution of spatial pattern, the carbon unlocking level of The Poyang Lake City Group is relatively higher than that of the Wuhan Metropolitan Area and the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan urban agglomeration, and nanchang and wuhan have a radiation effect of technological spillover on surrounding cities. ② In terms of regional difference characteristics, the Theil index has experienced a dynamic process of first rising and then falling. The overall difference is dominated by intra-regional differences, among which the intra-regional difference contribution rate of The Poyang Lake City Group is the highest, the contribution rate of the Wuhan Metropolitan Area fluctuates significantly, the contribution rate of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan urban agglomeration shows a downward trend, while the inter-regional difference contribution rate is low but has shown an increasing trend in recent years. ③ In terms of network connection, the carbon unlocking network of the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River has maintained a high degree of association, significant strong connectivity, and the network density continues to climb, while the efficiency decreases and the hierarchy decreases. The "net spillover plate" composed of core cities in The Poyang Lake City Group and Wuhan Metropolitan Area represented by wuhan and nanchang drives the development of surrounding areas through technology and policy radiation; cities such as pingxiang, wuhan, yichang, and huanggang play an intermediary role in the network. ④ In terms of influencing factors, the level of affluence and Internet development have a significant positive direct effect on local carbon unlocking, while social consumption has a negative effect; industrial structure, technical level, population size, Internet development, and affluence have a negative spatial spillover effect, while the total effect of industrial structure and technical level shows a positive drive, and the total effect of population size and Internet shows a negative inhibition.