Objective: To explore the influencing factors of problematic phone use among college students in order to provide empirical evidence for mental health education and psychological intervention. Methods: A convenient sampling was used to conduct online questionnaire survey in November 2021 among 6543 college students from freshmen to seniors in China, who completed Mobile Phone Addiction Index, Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale of Self-Determination Theory, Brief Self-Control Scale, Sleep Time Procrastination Scale, Athens Insomnia Scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, Fear of Missing Out Scale. When the subjects answered yes to more than 8 items out of 17 in Mobile Phone Addiction Index, they were classified as problematic phone use. Binary logistic regression method was used to analyze the data. Results: Problematic smartphone use was increasing among undergraduates in China. Self-control in normal phone user group was significantly higher than that in problematic phone user group (P<0.001), and basic psychological needs, biorhythm, the sense of time value, the sense of time efficacy, sleep time procrastination, sleep quality, emotion regulation, stress, anxiety, depression and fear of missing out were significantly lower than that in problematic phone user group (P<0.05). The protective factor for problematic phone use was high level of self-control (OR=0.774, 95%CI: 0.756-0.793, P<0.001). In contrast, the risk factors were high level of sense of time value (OR=1.062, 95%CI: 1.045-1.079, P<0.001), sense of time effectiveness (OR=1.071, 95%CI: 1.050-
1.092, P<0.001), sleep time procrastination (OR=1.114, 95%CI: 1.098-1.129, P<0.001), emotion regulation (OR=1.027, 95%CI: 1.018-1.037, P<0.001), stress (OR=1.047, 95%CI: 1.010-1.086, P=0.012), and fear of missing out (OR=1.052, 95%CI: 1.042-1.063, P<0.001). Conclusion: Our findings will aid the early prevention
and treatment of problematic smartphone use among college students. Meanwhile, the correction of problematic smartphone use behavior and the influence of individual psychological factors need to be considered.