Objective of the study Interpersonal relationships, as an important variable afecting the physical and mental health and future development of individuals, were used to construct a structural equation model between physical activity and interpersonal relationships in order to help college students better adapt to society and achieve a high level of mental health. Methods SPSS 27.0 software was used to statistically analyze the data, and Amos 28.0 software was used to construct the model between variables. The results showed that physical activity directly predicted the interpersonal relationship status of college students (β= −0.108, 95% CI [−0.210,−0.005]), and the chain mediating efect of physical activity→self-control→mobile phone addiction tendency→interpersonal relationship distress was signifcant (β= −0.012, 95% CI [−0.033,−0.003]). The results of this study suggest that physical activity may be viewed as an efective intervention strategy to mitigate the interpersonal challenges that college students may face in the future.