The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationships among college students' achievement motivation (subjective task value and academic self-efficacy), academic procrastination (delay and missing deadlines) and achievement-related behaviours (effort and persistence). More specifically, the study investigated the mediating role of academic procrastination in linking college students' achievement motivation to their effort and persistence from the perspective of the expectancy-value theory. A total of 584 college students enrolled in a large southern urban university completed a self-report survey for the study. The study suggested two possible pathways that motivate students to persist and put forth greater effort, rooting in students' academic self-efficacy and subjective task value through their relationships with students' academic procrastination.