Background <p>Environmental literacy and ecological footprint awareness encouraging them to consume less energy, reduce waste and use natural resources more sustainably.</p> Aim <p>In this study, the aim was to determine and compare the relationship between environmental literacy, ecological footprint awareness, and environmental behaviors of adults.</p> Methods <p>The research was conducted in a descriptive and cross-sectional type. The universe of the research was individuals aged 18 and over in a province located in the west of Turkey (n: 398) between April 2022 and January 2023. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0, G*Power 3.1, and R programming language 4.1.3 programs.</p> Results <p>This study revealed that environmental literacy and ecological footprint awareness significantly affected environmental behaviors (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). In the study, the ecological footprint awareness variable has a partial mediating effect on the environmental behaviors variable (LLCI = 0.1226, ULCI = 0.2559).</p> Conclusions <p>Increased environmental literacy and ecological footprint awareness positively affect environmental behaviors. Future studies should explore these relationships in diverse populations. Longitudinal studies on attitudes towards environmental behaviors are recommended.</p>