AbstractThe present study aimed to examine body image attitude in Chinese college students and related psychological consequences. A silhouette‐matching test was administered to 425 college students in mainland China. Self‐esteem, negative emotions, subjective well‐being, and eating‐disorder‐related weight‐controlling behaviors were also measured. Only 12.9% of the participants were satisfied with their figure and the extent of body image dissatisfaction was comparable for both sexes. The majority of the female participants indicated a preference to be more slender. Their ideal figure was underweight and was far smaller than the most attractive female figure chosen by male participants. For male participants, the proportion wanting a fuller figure was comparable to that wanting a slimmer figure. Among female participants, body image dissatisfaction negatively correlated with self‐esteem and subjective well‐being, and positively correlated with negative emotions. Drive for thinness correlated with eating‐disorder‐related weight‐controlling behaviors not only for females, but also for males. Body image dissatisfaction, as a diagnostic feature for major subtypes of eating disorders, may signal serious concern among Chinese college students.