This study examines the relationship between school autonomy gap, principal leadership, school climate, teacher psychological factors, teachers’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment under the context of school autonomy reform. A path model has been developed to define the relationships between principal leadership and teachers’ outcomes via mediating variables. Multiple-group comparison was used to explore the effect of school autonomy gap in this process. We collected the data through a survey carried out in 26 senior secondary schools in China. In total 528 teachers and 59 principals and assistant principals participated. The results suggest a significant influence of instructional and transformational leadership on teachers’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment, mediated by the indirect impact of school climate and teachers’ self-efficacy. School autonomy gap, which is closely related to principal leadership, emerged as an important influence in the path model.