This study examined the contributions of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot-led dialogic reading (DR) to the Chinese language abilities and reading-related emotional development of children learning Chinese as their second language (CSL). A total of 90 children from European countries were selected for the study. The participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups (DR and control) and completed a book reading intervention that lasted for 12 weeks. The CSL children were administered the same language measures at pretest and posttest. The results showed that the DR group had better Chinese vocabulary knowledge and Chinese character reading performance than those in the control group. In addition, after 12 weeks, the DR children had more positive reading-related emotions than those in the control group. The findings highlight the importance of using AI chatbots as educators in home-based second language learning activities.