OBJECTIVE: Based on the self-determination theory, the three types of autonomy support of parents, teachers and peers as a whole were included in the same research system to explore their effects on exercise adherence of higher vocational college students and their internal mechanisms. METHODS: The study used the exercise autonomy support scale, autonomous motivation scale and exercise adherence scale to construct and test the hypothesised pathways for promoting exercise adherence among students in higher vocational college. Using the data obtained from a survey of 436 higher vocational college students as the unit of analysis, and taking into account the variable of students' self-determined motivation. The three types of autonomy support of parents, teachers and peers were simultaneously incorporated into the same research system to explore their effects on higher vocational college students' exercise adherence and their internal mechanisms. RESULTS: Except for parent autonomy support, neither teacher nor peer autonomy support had a significant positive effect on exercise adherence of higher vocational college students. Unlike the role played by teacher autonomy support, neither parent nor peer autonomy support was able to positively predict exercise autonomous motivation among higher vocational college students. CONCLUSION: Parent autonomy support can positively influence the exercise adherence of higher vocational college students, neither teacher nor peer autonomy support can significantly positively influence the exercise adherence of higher vocational college students. Teacher autonomy support can significantly and indirectly influence higher vocational college students' exercise adherence through autonomous motivation, while parent and peer autonomy support cannot indirectly influence higher vocational college students' exercise adherence through autonomous motivation.