This study aims to understand the influence of metacognitive skills and self-regulated learning on the academic performance of first-year university students. With this in mind, a sample of 140 first-year undergraduate students was selected using cluster sampling at Félix Houphouët Boigny University in Abidjan (Ivory Coast). Two questionnaires relating to the different variables were administered to them. After the data were analyzed, the means obtained were compared using Student's t-test for independent samples in SPSS software. The results showed, first, that first-year undergraduate students who use metacognitive skills in their learning process have higher academic performance than their peers who do not use metacognitive skills in their learning process. Second, undergraduate students who apply self-regulated learning in their learning process perform better academically than their peers who do not apply self-regulated learning in their learning process.