Introduction: Along with the swift spread of 3G and wireless network, wireless technologies are applied in many areas, especially in education. The advent of mobile learning overcomes several limitations and barriers of traditional classroom education. As for higher education in China, mobile learning is in its infancy stage. Understanding end-users’ acceptance of mobile learning is crucial, because new technological advances cannot enhance performance if they are not accepted by end-users. This study focuses on three top Chinese universities and answers the following research questions:

1. How do students perceive mobile devices as a learning tool incorporated in class and what are their attitudes towards mobile learning?
2. What are the motivational factors that affect students’ acceptance of mobile learning?

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to test the proposed Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in explaining students’ acceptance in three top Chinese universities. The goal of this work is to enhance the understanding of user acceptance of incorporating learning into mobile device inside and outside classes.

Method: A deductive, theory-testing approach was used in this study. Eleven hypotheses were built based on a literature review and on the proposed TAM model, and were tested using primary data and literature review. Primary data was gathered via semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The data collected through the questionnaire was analysed by Structural Equation Modeling.

Conclusion: Through testing the proposed model, the authors found that students are positive towards mobile learning but they do not have a strong willingness to adopt it. The proposed TAM model can improve the understanding of students’ motivation by suggesting what factors are the most important in enhancing students acceptance of mobile learning.