The objective of this study is to investigate how work stress affects work engagement and how self-efficacy mediates among secondary school physical education teachers. The link between work stress, engagement, and self-efficacy of secondary school physical education teachers was examined using questionnaires and linear regression analysis with a sample of 400 secondary school physical education instructors from 32 primary and secondary schools in China. The findings indicated that the relationship between work stress and engagement of secondary school physical education teachers was increasing and then decreasing. When work stress exceeds a certain range, work engagement will decrease with the increase, but conversely, appropriate work stress could effectively promote work engagement and reduced the impact of stress on job engagement.