Purpose: The purpose of this study was to critically analyse the factors that affect the motivation of public primary school teachers and also to investigate if there is any relationship between teacher motivation and job satisfaction in Mauritius. Design/methodology/approach: Simple random sampling method was used to collect data from 250 primary teachers who are members of the Government Teachers Union (GTU). Chi-square test was used to test the hypotheses. Findings: The findings have shown similar results to the integrated cognitive-motivational model for the study of teachers' professional motivation by Jesus and Lens. However, some results seem to contradict the literature review. On the whole, Mauritian primary teachers have a good motivational level. Research limitations/implications: Owing to time and financial constraints, a larger sample size could not be taken to carry out the survey. Practical implications: There is a need for educational leaders to take immediate actions pertaining to the improvement of teachers' motivation. Originality/value: Despite the fact that many research studies have been carried out on job satisfaction and motivation of teachers worldwide, there is hardly any study that has focused solely on the concept of motivation as far as the Mauritian context is concerned. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)