<![CDATA[Hajj pilgrimage exposes individuals to intense physical, social, and spiritual demands that may heighten anxiety, making it important to understand how emotion regulation and psychological well-being shape this experience. This study examined the mediating role of psychological well-being in the relationship between emotion regulation and anxiety among 243 Indonesian Hajj pilgrims using a quantitative cross-sectional design. Participants completed the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), the Ryff-based Psychological Well-Being scale, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). Data were analyzed using PROCESS Macro Model 4 with 5,000 bootstrap samples. Emotion regulation showed a significant negative effect on anxiety (β = -0.21, p < .001) and a significant positive effect on psychological well-being (β = 0.34, p < .001). Psychological well-being demonstrated a significant positive association with anxiety (β = 0.10, p < .05). Mediation analysis indicated a significant indirect effect of emotion regulation on anxiety through psychological well-being (indirect effect = 0.033, 95% CI [0.006, 0.066]). These findings suggest that psychological well-being functions as a contextual and ambivalent mediator: greater well-being may increase reflective anxiety related to spiritual responsibility. Pre-Hajj psychological preparation should therefore combine adaptive emotion regulation training with strategies for managing evaluative stress and spiritual performance concerns. Keywords: anxiety, emotion regulation, psychological well-being]]>
