A positive parenting style such as parental autonomy support has a significant impact on promoting children’s positive emotions and healthy development to foster a harmonious parent-child relationship. This study investigates the influence and mechanism behind parental autonomy support on the parent-child relationship using survey data from junior high school students in Guangzhou City in Guangdong Province (N=555). The findings indicate that parental autonomy support actively promotes a harmonious parent-child relationship while basic psychological needs partially mediate this effect. Empathy also plays a moderating role in the first half of the mediation model - perception of parental autonomy support → basic psychological needs → parent-child relationship. This research enhances our understanding about how parental autonomy support influences the parent-child relationship at an internal level and provides valuable insights for family and school education.