IntroductionFew studies have documented the relationship between stressful life events and procrastination, which is a prevalent and troubling problem among college students. In this regard, the current study examined the association between stressful life events and procrastination through potential mediating effects of stress beliefs and core self-evaluations.MethodsA cross-sectional design was carried out and data were collected from a total of 794 Chinese college students with measures of stressful life events, core self-evaluations, stress beliefs, and procrastination.ResultsStressful life events was positively associated with procrastination in college students. Stress beliefs and core self-evaluations played multiple mediating roles in this relationship.DiscussionThe study provided a novel perspective of finding the possible causes of procrastination in college students and highlighted the roles of stress beliefs and core self-evaluations.