Anxiety has proved to be a complicated yet serious issue in learners at all educational levels. Thus, how to handle it becomes significant given the critical importance of education to both individuals and society, which justifies continuous research on it. The present study investigated anxiety and its sources in Chinese doctoral students. 322 students from various universities in China answered the Zung Self- Rating Anxiety Scale, the Student Stress Inventory, the background questionnaire and two open-ended questions. Analyses of the data revealed the following main findings: (1) the respondents were largely anxious both physically and mentally and experienced (high) stress in various situations, (2) a series of causes was identified for student anxiety, and (3) student anxiety and stress were highly related to each other. Based on these findings, implications on how to reduce student anxiety are discussed.