The study discusses the impact of urbanization on the pollutant emissions into the atmosphere in Russian regions in 2001-2018 based on the data from the Federal State Statistics Service. The regions are divided into two groups by export activity, to determine the impact of urbanization on air pollution taking into account regional specialization. The study also tests the hypothesis that the costs of innovation play a role in the process of urbanization. Methodologically, the study relies on econometric methods based on the panel data. The results show that a rise in the level of urbanization, calculated as a proportion of the urban population, increases the level of pollutant emissions, regardless of which group the region falls into. The increased costs of technological innovations, on the contrary, lead to a reduction in the volume of emissions, which means that it is necessary to stimulate companies to invest more in equipment modernization. The results of the research can be useful for regional policy-makers.