Objective: To investigate the effect of exercise intervention on sleep quality of female college students with anxiety, and to further explore the mediating effect of negative emotions in this association. Methods: Seventy female college students were randomly divided into experimental group (34 patients) and control group(36 patients). The experimental group received eight-week aerobic exercise and yoga training. The control group received no training. Sleep Quality Scale, Negative Emotion Scale and Anxiety Self-rating Scale were used to assess the level of sleep and negative emotion before and after exercise intervention. Results: After exercise intervention, sleep quality (4.31±1.26), anxiety (36.41±7.32) and negative emotion (2.37±0.50) in the experimental group significantly improved(P<0.01), no similar changes were found in the control group(P<0.05). By examining the mediating effects, negative emotions played a partial mediating role in the association between exercise and sleep quality(t=6.77, P<0.01). Conclusion Exercise intervention significantly improved the quality of sleep and negative emotion among female college students with anxiety. Negative emotions play a partial role in the positive effect of exercise on sleep quality.