PurposeStudents' satisfaction is termed as their subjective evaluation of the fulfillment of expectations and pleasure experienced from the teaching services. This study intends to examine the role of teachers' work engagement in inculcating students' satisfaction from their teachers taking a self-determination perspective. It moreover highlights the underlying mechanisms of teacher–student interaction and teachers' sensitivity.Design/methodology/approachWe used 278 valid and matched responses from teachers and students of higher secondary/intermediate/degree colleges operating in Pakistan through multi-stage sampling. The data were gathered in three waves and multiple mediation analysis was conducted using PROCESS model 4 to analyze the data and infer results.FindingsThe results revealed that college teachers' work engagement (i.e. vigor, dedication and absorption) is required to create their willingness and motivation to invest in effective pedagogical decisions and inculcate students' satisfaction. This engagement, in turn, improves their interaction with students and makes them more sensitive in meeting the needs of students that causes students to have satisfying educational experiences.Originality/valueThis research has taken a unique standpoint of considering teachers' engagement as a precursor of students' satisfaction, in contrast to the prior focus on assessing the role of institutional dynamics, demographics and teachers' competence. It has also unraveled the role of teachers' sensitivity and student–teacher interaction in the above-mentioned association based on self-determination theory (SDT). Moreover, it has emphasized the teaching dynamics and its outcomes in the college sector instead of the much-examined university and school settings.