Research on English for academic purposes (EAP) has mainly adopted a product-oriented view, but rather rarely observed academic writing as a learning process. From the socio-cognitive perspective of learning, the present study investigated first-year EAP learners' self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies for and beliefs about academic writing and mapped out the relationships between them using structural equation modelling (SEM). A total of 307 first-year EFL undergraduates at a Chinese university participated in this survey research upon finishing an entry-level EAP course of research article writing. The SRL and writing beliefs questionnaires were adapted referring to the construct of academic writing and proven high reliability and validity in the current context. On five-point Likert scales, the students reported their overall medium-to-high level of SRL writing strategy use in the cognitive, metacognitive, social behavioural, and motivational regulation aspects and generally positive beliefs of academic writing as transaction and recursion, but limited self-perceived academic writing effort and ability. SEM indicated significantly positive associations between SRL and academic writing beliefs. Notably, the views of academic writing as idea transaction fostered all SRL domains the most strongly, especially social behavioural strategies. This study concluded the distinctive interacting and socialising processes highlighted in the learning of academic writing and gave pedagogical implications for novice EAP learners' SRL development.