Purpose <p>Online English teaching in universities has experienced rapid growth, yet there remains a significant gap in research evaluating its effectiveness. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of online English teaching in Chinese universities using Kirkpatrick’s Model, with the goal of optimizing online teaching strategies.</p> Design/methodology/approach <p>The study developed an evaluation index system for the effectiveness of online English teaching in universities. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 492 students from five universities in Shanghai. Structural equation modeling was employed for path analysis and model validation to examine the relationships between different levels of Kirkpatrick’s Model and the online teaching effectiveness evaluation system, as well as their chain mediating effects.</p> Findings <p>The results demonstrate that satisfaction with online teaching platforms and teaching quality significantly and positively impacts students’ knowledge and skill mastery, as well as their cognitive effects. These factors, in turn, influence students’ learning behavior performance and learning outcomes. This aligns with the progressive relationship between the reaction, learning, behavior, and results levels of Kirkpatrick’s Model.</p> Practical implications <p>The findings offer empirical evidence for enhancing online English teaching in universities. Recommendations include optimizing teaching platform functionalities, improving the quality of teaching content, and enhancing interactive teaching design to improve overall teaching effectiveness.</p> Originality <p>This study extends Kirkpatrick’s Model to evaluating university online English teaching by unraveling four-level chain mediation, empirically verifying multi-dimensional factors’ sequential influence via layered paths and filling prior gaps. It provides new theoretical perspectives and methods for online teaching evaluation, contributing to educational research.</p>