With the continuous development of society, the form of reading has gradually transitioned from traditional paper-based reading to modern digital reading. At the same time, reading that mainly meets leisure and entertainment needs has become an important component of modern life. university students are one of the main groups of leisure digital reading. In order to explore the structure of their leisure digital reading motivation and develop scientific measurement tools, this study combines top-down theoretical driving and bottom-up data-driven approaches. Through three surveys, a total of 831 valid questionnaires were collected, methods and techniques such as public view content analysis, item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis were used to construct a leisure digital reading motivation structure for university students that includes three dimensions: social interaction, emotional relaxation, and entertainment hobbies. A questionnaire with high reliability and validity was also developed; The questionnaire was used to investigate the motivation of leisure digital reading among university students, and it was found that the motivation of leisure digital reading among contemporary university students is average, with no significant differences in gender, place of residence, and major type, but significant differences in grade and college type.