This study developed a serial mediation model grounded in social cognitive theory to examine how three types of supervisory support (academic, emotional, and autonomy) influence academic procrastination among doctoral students in China, emphasizing the sequential mediating roles of research self-efficacy and persistence intention. Utilizing data from 236 doctoral students and employing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), this research uncovered varied effects of supervisory supports on procrastination. Emotional support showed no direct or indirect influence on procrastination. In contrast, academic support directly reduced procrastination, with this effect being sequentially mediated by research self-efficacy and persistence intention. Autonomy support, while not directly affecting procrastination, had its impact sequentially mediated by research self-efficacy and persistence intention. The findings underscore the importance of different supervisory supports in mitigating academic procrastination via mechanisms of research self-efficacy and persistence intention, offering valuable insights for creating targeted interventions for doctoral students.