Objective Self‐compassion is an adaptive emotion‐regulation strategy characterised by self‐kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. This cross‐sectional study examined the mediating role of self‐compassion in student psychological health. Method An international sample of 306 tertiary students completed measures of self‐compassion, well‐being (satisfaction with life, flourishing, and positive affect), and distress (stress, negative affect, burnout, and depression). Results Correlational analyses indicated that higher self‐compassion was associated with higher well‐being and lower distress. A series of multiple regression analyses indicated that self‐compassion mediated the relationships between stress and depression, negative affect and depression, burnout and depression, and aggregate distress and aggregate well‐being. Conclusion Overall, the findings suggest that self‐compassion may be a useful addition to interventions aimed at mitigating student distress and improving student well‐being.