Abstract: The public′s satisfaction with air quality is an important indicator of environmental governance achievements. In order to accurately grasp the actual feelings of the Chinese public towards the state of air environment and objectively reflect the progress and problems in air environmental management, an air environmental quality satisfaction index (AEQS) model and an air quality public satisfaction evaluation index system were established based on analytic hierarchy process and comprehensive methods such as questionnaire survey, model construction, entropy method and attitude quantification method. A questionnaire survey on public air quality satisfaction was conducted in 31 provinces, and the AEQS model and evaluation index system were assessed and applied. Our results show that: (1) The reliability and validity tests of the survey data are good, indicating that the index system has a good scientific validity. (2) The national public satisfaction index of air quality is 73.77 points, which reaches a relatively satisfactory level. (3) Air environmental quality satisfaction is not significantly correlated with PM_2.5, PM₁₀ concentration and AQI. The public satisfaction index of air quality was most influenced by satisfaction with government management to air quality and satisfaction with government investment in air quality improvement. (4) The analysis of importance-satisfaction of indicators (IPA) indicates that the public satisfaction index of air quality can be improved by the important strategies, such as government supplementing personal travel and health protection information in the disclosure of air quality-related information, reducing personal economic expenditure caused by air pollution, and taking into account the public′s daily life when formulating relevant policies. Overall, the AEQS model and evaluation index system have good scientific quality. The satisfaction with the government air quality management and satisfaction with the government investment in air quality improvement are important factors affecting public satisfaction. In the future, China should pay more attention to the impact of air quality management on daily life and the public′s economic expenditures to deal with air pollution in the customization of environmental governance policies.