This study investigated the influence of students' different Online Learning Readiness (OLR) profiles on their Online Self-Regulated Learning (OSRL) strategies in the context of the first online learning experience (FOL) for students. The data was collected from 262 students in a four-year university in North China during the Spring of 2021. K-mean cluster analysis was conducted to identify groups of participants with distinct patterns of OLR, and one-way MANOVA was used to determine the difference in online OSRL between the different groups. The findings reveal that FOL students with greater levels of OLR also possessed higher levels of OSRL, including goal setting, environmental structuring, task strategies, time management, help-seeking, and self-evaluation. On the basis of the findings, the authors address the function of OLR in establishing OSRL in online learning and its implications for supporting FOL students' self-regulated learning in online learning. The study underlines the need of educating college students in China to succeed in online learning throughout the transition from the COVID-19 global pandemic to the post-pandemic period.