With the rapid development of the economy, individuals are gradually raising awareness of the impacts of their daily behaviors on the environment. This paper uses household survey data from China Family Panel Studies to investigate the influence of trade liberalization on Chinese residents’ pro-environmental behaviors. The results first reveal that trade liberalization has a significant positive impact on residents’ pro-environmental behaviors, implying that trade liberalization is conducive to promoting residents’ daily behaviors in a less environmentally harmful manner. Second, the impacts of trade liberalization on residents’ pro-environmental behaviors are heterogeneous depending on regions, household sizes, and household incomes per capita. Third, trade liberalization helps residents form environmentally friendly living habits by the mechanisms of improving income, promoting urbanization, and increasing the government’ss investment in waste disposal. Our study provides insights into regulating residents’ pro-environmental behaviors and improving environmental quality in emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]