Psychological distress has a negative impact on academic self-efficacy of university students. Aim: To assess the correlation between psychological distress and academic self-efficacy of Assiut University students. Design: A descriptive correlational design was utilized. Setting: The study was carried out at six faculties were chosen at random method, four of them were practical (faculties of nursing, agriculture, computers and information and sugar industry technology) and two of theoretical (faculties of education and faculty of early childhood education). Methods: Stratified sampling technique was used. Accordingly, 400 students were included in the study. The tools included demographic characteristics of students, kessler psychological distress scale and academic self-efficacy scale. Results: The findings revealed that 33.25 % and 35.25 % of students had high and very high levels of psychological distress respectively, while 72.0% of students had a moderate degree of academic self-efficacy. There was a negative non-statistically significant correlation between psychological distress and academic self-efficacy (r=- 0.061, p=0.222). Conclusion: Psychological distress was negatively and non-significantly correlated with academic self-efficacy of Assiut University students. Recommendations: Designing and implementing psychoeducational program interventions for students to reduce psychological distress and improve their academic self-efficacy.