Introduction: School belonging, as one of the key components in students' educational experience, plays a decisive role in the formation of a sense of security and a positive relationship with the educational environment. The present study aimed to identify the relationship between school belonging and academic well-being with the mediating role of love of learning in students.
Method: The research method of this study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive in terms of methodology, correlational. The statistical population included all second-year high school students in Baneh city in the academic year 2023-25. To calculate the sample size, the Cochran formula and its number were estimated at 364 people and then questionnaires were distributed using multi-stage cluster sampling. In order to collect data, Brown and Evans' School Belonging Questionnaire (2002), Tuminin Sweeney's Academic Well-Being (2012), and MacFarlane's Love of Learning (2003) questionnaires were used. Data analysis was performed using Pearson correlation and structural equation modeling using SPSS29 and AMOS26 software,
Results: The results showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between school belonging and academic well-being (p<0.01) and love of learning has a direct and significant relationship with school belonging and academic well-being. In addition, school belonging, mediated by love of learning, has an indirect and significant effect on academic well-being (p<0.05).
Conclusion: having a sense of belonging to school and a love of learning have a significant impact on students' academic well-being and can lead to improve academic engagement and mental health.