Objective To study the earthquake emergency response capability and post-earthquake psychological state of students after the Wenchuan earthquake. And also, to investigate the level of earthquake-related knowledge so as to provide basic information for enhancing the emergency response capabilities among college students. Methods We selected 1% Sichuan University students by convenience sample method and conducted the survey in person with a self-designed questionnaire. Results were analyzed with Epidata 3.0 and SPSS13.0 software. Results We distributed 527 questionnaires and 517 (97.27%) valid questionnaires were retrieved. Most college students had a good grasp of earthquake knowledge: 65.4% to 97.7% of the responders gave the correct answers, but only 12.77% said they had ever received earthquake survival training. 15.2% suffered from fear after the earthquake, 59.4% became uneasy, and 25.4% remained calm. Gender, grade, or major were not the factors influencing the psychological state of college students after the earthquake (P= 0.246, 0.216, and 0.406, respectively). Also, earthquake survival training did not influence the psychological state of college students after the earthquake (P=0.090). Psychological intervention after the earthquake was identified as an important factor that affected the psychological state of students (P=0.002). Conclusion College students have a good grasp of the basic knowledge regarding earthquake, but relevant survival training is far from sufficient. Universities should strengthen earthquake survival training, enhance the post-earthquake emergency response capacity of students, and carry out post-disaster psychological intervention directly following an earthquake. There is no significant difference in the mental status among students of different genders, grades, or professional backgrounds.