Critical thinking is a key competence in higher education. However, little is known about the conception that students have of this competence. This study aims to analyze what university students understand by critical thinking and if these conceptions agree with those of university teachers analyzed in a previous study. A total of 263 participants took part in the study. The findings reveal that students tend to consider critical thinking as a competence related to "reasoning/arguing and questioning/asking oneself." Also, that students' conception about critical thinking differs from that of teachers. Whereas students tend to consider critical thinking as related to "reasoning/arguing," "questioning/asking oneself" and, to a lesser extent, to "acting/compromising." Teachers, on the other hand, tend to consider critical thinking as related to "analyzing/organizing" and "evaluating." No significant differences were found regarding students' gender and academic year. These results highlight the importance of considering students' views when designing the curricula and the learning activities to develop students' critical thinking.