Objective: To explore the impact of cognitive emotion regulation strategies on fear of negative evaluation among college students using a random forest algorithm in order to provide empirical evidence to support mental health improvements. Methods: In March 2024, a convenience sampling method was used to conduct an online survey with 5 750 college students from three universities in Wuhan, Hubei Province. A least squares regression model was employed to analyze whether cognitive emotion regulation strategies significantly influenced fear of negative evaluation. A random forest model was also constructed to identify predictors and rank the importance of various factors affecting fear of negative evaluation. Results: The least squares regression model indicated that cognitive emotion regulation strategies significantly impacted fear of negative evaluation among college students ( β=4.25, 95%CI=3.81-4.68, P <0.05). Family support, including mild impairment ( β=-2.71, 95%CI =-3.36 to -2.06, P <0.05) and severe impairment in the domain ( β=-1.64, 95%CI =-2.27 to -1.01, P <0.05), were associated with increased fear. The random forest model further revealed that cognitive emotion regulation strategies, family support index, and academic ranking were the main factors affecting the fear of negative evaluation among college students. Conclusions Cognitive emotion regulation strategies are key factors influencing fear of negative evaluation among college students. Universities should provide enhanced mental health resources, offer training to strengthen cognitive emotion regulation strategies, and offer additional support to students with low family support.