Family and personal factors play an essential role in the satisfaction with the studies of university students. In this sense, the objective of this research was to determine if self-esteem and family communication predict satisfaction with studies in university students from the Puno Region, Peru. The methodology consisted of a cross-sectional and predictive design; 538 Peruvian university students of both sexes participated (69.1% men and 30.09% women) in 2022, whose ages ranged between 17 and 37 years (M = 20.43 and SD = 3.22). The instruments used were the Rosenberg self-esteem scale, the Olson Family Communication Scale (FCS), and the Merino Satisfaction Scale with the study. The results show that the proposed model had a good fit (X2 = 582.26, df = 224, p < 0.001, TLI = 941, CFI = 0.948, RMSEA = 0.055, RMR = 0.041), evidencing that self-esteem and family communication significantly predict (p < 0.001) satisfaction with the studies. In the discussion it is observed that self-esteem and family communication are significant predictors of satisfaction with studies in university students. Therefore, strategies to improve satisfaction with studies should be aimed at improving the self-esteem and communication of university students.