Background and purpose: New theories about social anxiety focus on the cognitive processes such as metacognition and anxiety sensitivity. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of metacognitive beliefs and anxiety sensitivity in social anxiety disorder.

Materials and methods: In a correlational study, 261 university students (118 males and 143 females) were selected using convenience sampling in 2013-2014. Participants completed the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI; Reiss et al., 1986), Metacognition questionnaire (Wells, 2004) and Social Phobia Inventory (Canoor, 2000).

Results: The mean ages of male and female subjects were 23±2.74 and 20±2.60, respectively. The results indicated significant relationship between some components of metacognitive beliefs and social anxiety (t=6.28, P<0.001). Also, social anxiety was predicted by the components of anxiety sensitivity.

Conclusion: This study showed the effects of anxiety sensitivity and metacognitive beliefs on social anxiety.