Objective: To explore the potential subgroups of emotion regulation strategies among junior high school students and their moderating role in the relationship between parental psychological control and depressive symptom, so as to provide basis for improving mental health among junior high school students. Methods: In October 2024, a cluster sampling method was used to select 3 389 junior high school students from 4 secondary schools across 2 districts in Chongqing. Surveys were conducted by using Center for Epidemiological Survey-Depression Scale (CES-D), Chinese Parental Psychological Control Scale (CPPCS), and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Latent profile analysis was applied to identify subgroups based on emotion regulation strategies, and multiple linear regression model was used to test the moderating effect of emotion regulation strategies on the association between parental psychological control and depressive symptom among junior high school students. Results: According to the two dimensions of emotion regulation strategies-cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, three distinct subgroups were identified:the moderate cognitive reappraisal-moderate expressive suppression subgroup (moderate-moderate subgroup, 64.2%), the low cognitive reappraisal-moderate expressive suppression subgroup (low-moderate subgroup, 9.6%), and the high cognitive reappraisal low expressive suppression subgroup (high-low subgroup, 26.1%). Hierarchical regression results indicated that both parental psychological control ( β =0.70) and deficits in cognitive reappraisal (low moderate subgroup, β =5.38) were associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms, whereas the high-low subgroup appeared to mitigate depressive symptom ( β =-3.47) (all P < 0.01). Compared to the moderate-moderate subgroup, the low-moderate subgroup showed a statistically significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between parental psychological control and depressive symptom ( β =0.14, P <0.05), while the negative moderating effect of the high-low subgroup was not statistically significant ( β =-0.07, P >0.05). Conclusions The negative impact of parental psychological control on depressive symptom in junior high school students varies depending on the use of different emotion regulation strategies. For a majority of students, enhancing cognitive reappraisal training may help alleviate the adverse effects of parental psychological control and promote better mental health.