The study investigated the relationships among principals' paternalistic leadership, teachers' trust in principal, work engagement, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Specifically, the study tested a moderated mediation model of paternalistic leadership's effect on teachers' organizational citizenship behaviors, with work engagement as mediator and trust in principal as moderator. In this cross-sectional research, data was gathered from 346 teachers working in primary and secondary schools in three different provinces in Turkiye. Paternalistic Leadership Scale-short form, Trust in Principal Scale, UWES-ultra short, and Organizational Citizenship Scale-short form were used to collect the research data. The results revealed that trust in principal was a significant moderator in paternalistic leadership's direct effect on teachers' organizational citizenship behaviors. It was also found that trust in principal moderated paternalistic leadership's indirect effect on teachers' organizational citizenship behaviors through work engagement. This study showed the critical role of trust in principal in the relationship between leadership and organizational citizenship behaviors. Moreover, it contributed significantly to the existing literature regarding teachers' work engagement. Some limitations of the study were reported, and theoretical and practical implications were noted within the framework of the findings.