Abstract
Introduction With the rapid spread of GenAI technologies, university students are both empowered by new technological affordances and confronted with multiple challenges in digital learning environments, including technological adaptation, psychological pressure, and cognitive load. Against the backdrop of accelerating digital transformation in Chinese higher education, this study explores how GenAI shapes the online learning resilience of Chinese university students. Methods Drawing on a survey of 306 students from five universities in Xinjiang, this study employs structural equation modeling to examine the impact of GenAI literacy on online learning resilience and to test the mediating role of self-efficacy. Results The results show that GenAI literacy has a significant positive effect on students' online learning resilience, with self-efficacy playing a partial mediating role in this relationship. Specifically, all four dimensions of GenAI literacy —cognitive awareness, usage ability, evaluation ability, and ethical awareness —enhance students' online learning resilience by strengthening their self-efficacy. Discussion In light of GenAI development, university students should strive to improve their GenAI literacy. The findings provide empirical evidence and practical guidance for higher education institutions to optimize AI literacy education and enhance students' online learning resilience in the context of digital transformation.