This study aims to explore the effect of cultural capital on academic motivation in the context of involution in China. The study will employ an ecological perspective to understand the interaction between college students and the involuted Chinese social context and job market, and the interaction mechanism between cultural capital and academic motivation. The concept of involution refers to the decreased “effort-to-reward ratio” in the education system, which has been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak and the popularity of internet companies for college graduates. Cultural capital, as defined by Bourdieu, refers to a form of capital that can be converted into economic capital and is institutionalized in the form of educational credentials. The study will consider the three forms of cultural capital (objectified, embodied, and institutionalized) and their impact on academic motivation at the school, family, and individual levels. The results of this study will provide insight into the complex relationship between cultural capital and academic motivation in the involuted context in China and will have implications for understanding the phenomenon of study and employment involution.