Objective: To investigate the association between physical activity frequency and anxiety/depression symptoms among college students in Jiangxi Province, so as to provide a basis for the physical and mental health development of adolescents. Methods: From July to October 2023, 5 761 college students from 11 colleges and universities in Jiangxi Province were selected by convenience sampling to conduct an online questionnaire survey regarding physical activity and mental health. Anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms were assessed by General Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 and Patient Health Questionnaires-9, respectively. Contingency table was used to analyze the distribution of different anxiety and depression symptoms by physical activity frequency, and ordered Logistic regression was used to analyze the association between physical activity frequency with anxiety and depressive symptoms, and stratified analysis was performed based on gender. Results: The detection rate of anxiety symptoms of college students was 43.6% ( n =2 513), and the detection rate of depression symptoms was 63.9% ( n =3 682). There were significant differences in the detection rate of anxiety and depression symptoms among different gender and physical activity frequency groups ( χ 2=15.98, 106.32; 30.65, 150.88, P <0.05). The detection rates of severe anxiety and depression symptoms of male and female who never exercise were higher (severe anxiety: 6.1% for male and 5.2% for female, severe depression: 8.7% for male and 7.4% for female).The results of ordered Logistic regression analysis showed that compared with college students who never exercised, male college students who were physically active almost every day were negatively correlated with mild anxiety and moderate depression symptoms ( OR=0.53，0.33，P <0.05). In addition, male college students who do physical activity 3-4 times a week were negatively correlated with moderate depressive symptoms ( OR =0.43), while male college students who do physical activity 1-2 times a week were negatively correlated with severe depressive symptoms ( OR =0.21) ( P <0.05). Physical activity was negatively correlated with different degress of anxiety and depression symptoms in female college students (anxiety: OR =0.27-0.74, depression: OR =0.18-0.75, P < 0.05). Conclusions The frequency of physical activity in college students (especially female college students) is negatively correlated with anxiety and depressive symptoms. It is suggested to improve the frequency of physical activity to promote physical and mental health.