Background: Academic cheating is one of the prevalent unmoral phenomena in educational systems that has been facilitated and spread increasingly with the development of technology. In this study, the effect of achievement goal orientations on academic cheating is investigated through the mediation of academic moral disengagement. 

Method: The present study is descriptive-correlation. The statistical population includes all students of Shahid Beheshti University in the second semester of 2016-2017. A total of 200 masters and Ph.D students were selected by convenience sampling. The measures used in this research are: Achievement Goal Questionnaire-Revised , Academic Moral Disengagement Scale and Cheating Behavior Scale. Data analysis was performed by the Structural Equation Modeling through software’s SPSS and AMOS.

Results: Results showed a negative significant relationship between mastery (approach and avoidance) goals and academic moral disengagement. Also, the relationship between mastery (approach and avoidance) goals and academic cheating was negative and insignificant. In addition, the relationship between performance (approach and avoidance) goals and academic moral disengagement was positive and significant. Also, the relationship between performance (approach and avoidance) goals and academic cheating was positive and insignificant.

Conclusion: It seems that educational interventions for increasing academic moral engagement are effective in reducing of academic cheating. These findings provide valuable information for educators want to reduce cheating in scientific environments, and provide important implications for moral education of students.