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• Risk perception of COVID-19 negatively correlated to willingness to help. • Interpersonal alienation partially mediated the link between risk perception of COVID-19 and willingness to help. • Expressive suppression moderated the associations between interpersonal alienation and willingness to help. Previous studies have revealed that situational risk factors have a significant influence on the willingness to help. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, maybe risk perception of COVID-19 is also correlated to the willingness to help. This study examined the mediating effect of interpersonal alienation and the moderating effect of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression in the relationship between risk perception of COVID-19 and willingness to help. Data from a large sample of Chinese college students (N = 2, 163) completed the measures of risk perception of COVID-19, willingness to help, interpersonal alienation, emotion regulation strategies including cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. The results indicated that the risk perception of COVID-19 negatively correlated to willingness to help. Interpersonal alienation partially mediated the link between risk perception of COVID-19 and willingness to help. College students' expressive suppression moderated the associations between interpersonal alienation and willingness to help. And who adopted more expressive suppression, the connection between interpersonal alienation and willingness to help was weaker compared to students who reported less expressive suppression. But cognitive reappraisal did not moderate the relationship between risk perception of COVID-19 and interpersonal alienation. Implications of the present paper for theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]