This study uses survey data from 12,548 parents in seven major cities in mainland China, including 5,850 middle-class parents. Through differential analysis, path analysis, and quantile regression, it examines the relationships between meritocratic educational beliefs, achievement expectation gaps, and educational anxiety. The findings reveal that approximately 16.8% of the middle-class parents surveyed exhibit symptoms of educational anxiety. Factors such as household registration, parental age, family structure, and children's academic performance contribute to variations in parental educational anxiety. While meritocratic educational beliefs do not directly affect parental educational anxiety, they influence the gap between expected and actual academic achievements, thereby leading to educational anxiety. Parents already experiencing high levels of educational anxiety are more susceptible to the impacts of achievement expectation gaps.