Using a 33-item 5-point Likert scale and partial least squares structural equation modeling approach, this study examined the role of 347 Chinese college first-year students' selfregulated learning as a mediator among social and cognitive presences and their learning satisfaction in an asynchronous online course during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it examined the extent to which their self-regulated learning and cognitive presence mediated the influence of social presence on their learning satisfaction. The results indicated that participants' self-regulated learning had a significant positive effect on their learning satisfaction. It also had a significant mediation effect between social presence and their learning satisfaction, as well as between social and cognitive presences. Furthermore, social presence played a significant role in participants' self-regulated learning and their learning satisfaction through the mediation of their self-regulated learning and cognitive presence. Implications for designing asynchronous online courses are discussed.