--- - |2 This study aims to provide new insights into the relationship between supervisors' perceptions of guanxi human resource management (HRM) practices and their subordinates' work engagement. We used a three time‐lagged sample from 45 work groups and 205 employees in a state‐owned organisation (Study 1) and cross‐sectional data from 101 work groups and 413 employees in 101 different organisations (Study 2) to test our hypotheses. The results revealed that supervisors' perceptions of guanxi HRM practices were positively related to subordinates' perceptions of guanxi HRM practices, which, in turn, negatively affected subordinates' work engagement. This indirect effect was stronger when group power distance was low or when individual power distance orientation was low. - Applied Psychology, Volume 67, Issue 4, Page 589-616, October 2018.