Based on five dimensions, a green finance evaluation indicator system for the Yangtze River Economic Belt was constructed. The Criteria Importance Though Intercrieria Correlation (CRITIC)-entropy weight method was employed to measure the green finance development level across 107 prefecture-level cities and above in the Economic Belt during 2007-2020. Moreover, the Dagum Gini coefficient and kernel density estimation were utilized to reveal the regional disparities and dynamic evolution trends in the development level of green finance. It was discovered that: (i) During the sample inspection period, the development level of green finance in the Economic Belt exhibited a fluctuating upward trend, with the annual growth rates of the three major regions decreasing from downstream to upstream. Provincial capitals such as Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Wuhan, and Chengdu were found to have notably higher levels of green finance development. (ii) The overall disparity in the development level of green finance in the Economic Belt showed a widening trend, with transvariation density as the primary source of overall disparity, followed by intra-regional differences, and the smallest contribution coming from inter-regional disparities. (iii) The absolute disparity in the development level of green finance within the Yangtze River Economic Belt was observed to be expanding, with the overall basin and the three major regions experiencing diverse evolutionary paths. A clear polarization trend in the downstream area was identified, accompanied by a "better-get-better" phenomenon.