INTRODUCTION: Delayed sleep-wake phase disorder(DSWPD)is a serious threat to the physical and mental health. There are some problems with current clinical treatment methods, and exercise is an alternative to chronotherapy. Therefore, we aimed to study the effects of two different exercise methods, aerobic and resistance, on sleep, melatonin, inflammatory factors and mood in college students with DSWPD. METHODS: Male college students aged 18-28 years with DSWPD and no regular exercise habits were recruited to participate in a randomized crossover trial. Three-day moderate-intensity aerobic and resistance exercises were conducted. Sleep quality, urine melatonin concentration, blood inflammatory factors, and mood changes were evaluated. RESULTS: Resistance exercise (RE) improved five sleep indicators (P <
0.05),including sleep onset time, sleep onset latency, total sleep time, wake after sleep onset and sleep efficiency, whereas aerobic exercise (AE) only improved sleep onset time and sleep efficiency (P <
0.05). In addition, RE and AE increased urine aMT6s, IL-10 and decreased IL-6. But RE was more effective in improving sleep onset time, sleep efficiency and urine aMT6s, IL-6. In terms of mood indicators, aerobic and resistance reduced self-rating anxiety scale, but AE also had an improvement effect on self-rating depression scale. CONCLUSION: Aerobic and resistance exercises can cause male college students with DSWPD to fall asleep earlier, improve sleep quality, increase melatonin concentration, reduce body inflammation, promote the synthesis of anti-inflammatory cytokines, and improve mood. Of the two exercise intervention methods, the effect of RE was more significant.