Background: Smart classroom environment has drawn worldwide attention, however, there is still a lack of studies that can explore and analyse potential factors, which affect students' satisfaction with smart classrooms in higher education. Objectives: To assess students' satisfaction with smart classrooms in higher education, this study proposed the smart classroom environment satisfaction model based on TAM and ACSI models. Methods: A sample of 1979 Chinese college students who studied in a smart classroom environment completed a survey assessing student satisfaction with the smart classroom environment. And a structural equation modelling analysis was used to further analyse students' preferences for smart classroom environments. Results and conclusions: The results showed that student satisfaction with smart classroom environment is significantly correlated with subjective perception factors after use, such as students' perceived value (PV), user experience and perceived expectations (PE). It indicated that user experience indirectly affected overall satisfaction (OS) through its positive impact on PV, while PE indirectly affected OS through its positive impact on user experience. Second, user experience had the greatest impact on student satisfaction, followed by PV and PE. This study is a theoretical supplement to future research on smart classroom environment in higher education, and can also provide reference for relevant government departments, universities and enterprises to build and manage smart classroom environment.