Entrepreneurial motivation is the endogenous impetus of individual entrepreneurship, and the fundamental approach to promote college students entrepreneurs in China is to stimulate their entrepreneurial motivation. How to stimulate college students’ entrepreneurial motivation in China? As opinions vary, no unanimous conclusion about the formation process of entrepreneurial motivation and the influence mechanisms of internal and external factors on entrepreneurial motivation can be drawn in the existing theories of entrepreneurial motivation. The existing empirical researches cannot clarify the internal impact mechanism of entrepreneurial motivation owing to the limitations of the theoretical basis. There are differences in the following two core issues: is entrepreneurial motivation direct or indirectly affected by internal and external factors? what are the specific path and the mediation variable if there is an indirect effect? In the view of this, we revise entrepreneurial motivation theory and entrepreneurial cognitive theory based on the cognitive theory, and put forward an analytical framework of cognitive theory of entrepreneurial motivation. In our view, individual factors and entrepreneurial environmental factors affect entrepreneurial motivation through the integration and intermediary role of adjustment factors of entrepreneurial cognition. Thereinto, the cognitive adjustment factors affect entrepreneurial motivation direct, and individual factors and entrepreneurial environmental factors affect entrepreneurial motivation indirectly through the cognitive adjustment factors. We build a systematic model that growth experience（individual factor）and social support（entrepreneurial environment factor）affect entrepreneurial motivation through the entrepreneurial self-efficacy（cognitive adjustment factor）indirectly, and then put forward the corresponding research hypothesis. Based on this conceptual model, we conduct an empirical analysis adopting structural equation modeling and using 792 samples from eleven universities in China. The results show that entrepreneurial self-efficacy determine college students’ entrepreneurial motivation direct, and personal growth experience and social support influence college students’ entrepreneurial motivation through entrepreneurial self-efficacy indirectly. It appears that this paper clarifies the internal logic of individual factors and entrepreneurial environment factors influencing individual entrepreneurial motivation from a theory perspective, and proves the intrinsic mechanism about personal growth experience and social support influencing college students’ entrepreneurial motivation. It amends and develops entrepreneurial motivation theory through the integration of entrepreneurial cognition theory and entrepreneurial motivation theory based on cognitive motivation theory. And the conclusions provide theoretical support and practical reference for arousing and strengthening Chinese college students’ entrepreneurial motivation.