PurposeTo explore the correlation between self-management and anxiety and quality of life in patients with anxiety disorders and to understand whether self-management can influence the relationship between anxiety and quality of life and provide a basis for improving their anxiety and quality of life.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of 245 patients with anxiety disorders in West China Hospital of Sichuan University was conducted using the Self-Management of Anxiety Disorders Scale, Self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), and World Health Organization Quality of Life-BBREF. The data were then analyzed using descriptive tests and Pearson correlation in SPSS 25. Bootstrap mediated effects tests were used to test the effect relationship between anxiety, quality of life and self-management scores in patients with anxiety disorders and Amos was used to establish the structural equation model.ResultsThe results of the correlation analysis showed that the total self-management score was positively correlated with the total quality of life score (r = 0.695, P <0.001), physical domain score (r = 0.552, P <0.001), psychological domain score (r = 0.661, P <0.001), social relations domain score (r = 0.542, P <0.001), and environmental domain score (r = 0.614, P <0.001). Additionally, it was negatively correlated with SAS score (r = –0.470, P <0.001). Self-management partially mediates the relationship between anxiety and quality of life, and the direct effect value of anxiety on quality of life was –0.44. The indirect effect value of self-management was –0.27, accounting for 38% of the total effect value.ConclusionSelf-management of patients with anxiety disorders was negatively correlated with anxiety and positively correlated with quality of life. It played a partially mediating effect between anxiety and quality of life. We recommend that healthcare providers pay attention to self-management interventions for patients with anxiety disorders to further improve their quality of life.