The study investigated the mediating role of tolerance in the relationship between cultural intelligence and xenophobia. The study further investigated the moderating role of gender in the relationships between cultural intelligence, tolerance, and xenophobia. A structural equation modeling-based mediation and multi-group analysis were employed using the data collected from 543 teacher candidates. Mediation analysis results indicated that tolerance significantly mediates the relationship between cultural intelligence and xenophobia. Multi-group analysis results indicated that there were significant gender differences in the relationships between cultural intelligence, tolerance, and xenophobia.