<p>This study seeks to examine the latent profiles of parenting styles among university students and their relationship with creativity, considering the potential mediating and moderating roles of achievement motivation and openness. A sample of 503 college students (M_age±SD = 21.20 ± 1.57, 65.4% were female) from various regions of China participated in this study. Researchers administered the Revised Short-form Chinese Version of the Parenting Style Questionnaire, the Achievement Motivation Scale, the Openness Scale, and the Creativity Scale to collect data. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify different patterns of parenting styles, while mediation and moderation analyses were conducted to explore the impact of parenting styles on creativity, mediated by achievement motivation and moderated by openness. Results revealed four distinct parenting profiles: balanced style (28%), warmth-supportive style (35%), cold-rejecting style (19%), and ambivalent-overprotective style (17%). Mediation and moderation analyses further revealed that achievement motivation mediated the effects of warmth-supportive and ambivalent-overprotective parenting styles on creativity. Openness moderated the link between warmth-supportive parenting and achievement motivation. These findings suggest that achievement motivation plays a significant role in the development of creativity, particularly under supportive parenting environments, and that openness amplifies the positive effects of such parenting styles. The results contribute to a deeper understanding of how parental influences shape students’ creative potentials and provide practical insights for fostering creativity through tailored parenting strategies.</p>