Purpose <p>Cervical cancer continues to be a major preventable cause of morbidity and mortality among women worldwide, but in the UAE, HPV vaccine uptake and cervical cancer screening are not consistent. Understanding women’s perceptions of awareness, behaviors, and barriers to improve preventive services is critical. To assess knowledge, attitudes, vaccination status, screening behavior, and perceived barriers regarding cervical cancer among women aged 21–45 years in the UAE.</p> Methodology <p>A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted among 385 women using a structured 24-item instrument. The questionnaire captured demographics, awareness, preventive behavior, and barriers. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. Descriptive statistics, composite scoring, and Pearson correlation analysis were performed.</p> Results <p>Among the participants, 64.7% had health insurance, 65.2% had received prior information about HPV, and 75.8% had discussed cervical health with a provider. Overall, 69.9% had received the HPV vaccine, 72.5% had undergone screening, 48.5% regularly visited healthcare providers, and 60.6% felt comfortable discussing HPV. Fear or embarrassment (35.3%), cost (22.6%), and cultural beliefs (20.3%) were main barriers. Awareness was positively correlated with behavior (<i>r</i> = 0.243, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) and barriers (<i>r</i> = 0.171, <i>p</i> = 0.001), while barriers showed no correlation with behavior (<i>r</i> = − 0.016, <i>p</i> = 0.747).</p> Conclusion <p>Despite high rates of screening and vaccination, there remain knowledge gaps and psychosocial barriers. Targeted education and culturally appropriate interventions must be undertaken to increase cervical cancer prevention in the UAE.</p>