This study investigates students' behavioural intention towards e-learning practices through the augmented reality app during the COVID-19 pandemic. It extends the literature on the effectiveness of e-learning through the augmented reality app by investigating the students' social, personal, emotional, and cognitive roles in their behavioural intention towards e-learning in Saudi Arabian higher education institutions. For this study, convenience sampling was used to collect data from 152 graduate and postgraduate students from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. For data analysis, the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling method was applied to investigate the proposed hypotheses' path modelling. Furthermore, the proposed model for students' behavioural intention towards e-learning through augmented reality was tested using the social cognitive theory dimensions. It was discovered that personal, social, and emotional factors positively impact the students' cognitive engagement and behavioural intention towards e-learning. Moreover, the results revealed that the personal, social, and emotional factors affect the behavioural intention of the students towards e-learning through the mediating effect of cognitive engagement. The findings of this study indicated that the students were motivated to learn through the augmented reality app. Thus, educational institutions should upgrade their e-learning practices from traditional to advanced learning techniques such as augmented reality.