The goal of this study was to investigate the determinants affecting university students' attitude and intention towards using a learning management system from the perspective of self-determination theory, and to examine the moderating effect of gender and usage experience and the relationships between these determinants. Two hundred forty-one Chinese university students' responses addressing their perceptions of using Blackboard for autonomous learning were gathered through a convenient sampling technique and were analysed by PLS-SEM. We found that autonomy, relatedness, competence, and satisfaction had a positive and significant impact on students' intention towards using Blackboard; furthermore, the construct of autonomy was the strongest determinant for the use of Blackboard. However, students who used Blackboard were not found to be moderated by gender and usage experience. This study provides important implications for educators and institutions and contributes to our understanding of university students' adoption of learning management systems.