In order to provide theoretical support for the prevention and intervention of adolescent online game addiction, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 1813 adolescents with high acceptance scale to explore the mediating role of maladaptive cognition in school participation on Internet addiction and the moderating role of gender. The results showed that :(1) after controlling for gender, age and other factors, school engagement negatively predicted adolescents’ online gaming addiction; (2) Maladaptive cognitions partially mediated the relationship between school engagment and adolescents’ online gaming addiction; (3) Gender moderated the mediated path through maladaptive cognitions, such that this mediating effect was much stronger for male adolescents compared to female adolescents.