The purpose of this study was to examine the controlling coaching behavior perceived by Chinese college cheerleading players and the player's intention to quit exercising, and to investigate whether the coach-athlete relationship factors can act as a mediator in their relationship. The participants of the study were 366 cheerleading athletes from 20 universities located in five southern China regions, and data were collected by conducting a questionnaire by WeChat-Questionnaire Star. The data obtained through a standardized questionnaire survey on target variables were statistically processed through SPSS 26.0, AM03 24.0, and PROCESS Macro (V4.2) programs, resulting in the following research results. First, the controlling coaching behavior perceived by cheerleading players had a significant positive indirect effect on the intention to quit exercising through a close relationship. Second, the controlling coaching behavior perceived by cheerleading players had a significant positive indirect effect on the intention to quit exercising through a dedication mediating variable. Third, the controlling coaching behavior perceived by cheerleading players had a significant positive indirect effect on the intention to quit exercising through the complementarity.