The present study investigated the factor structure of and measurement invariance in the information and communication technology (ICT) engagement construct, and the relationship between ICT engagement and students’ performance on science, mathematics and reading in China and Germany. Samples were derived from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 survey. Configural, metric and scalar equivalence were found in a multigroup exploratory structural equation model. In the regression model, a significantly positive association between interest in ICT and student achievement was found in China, in contrast to a significantly negative association in Germany. All achievement scores were negatively and significantly correlated with perceived ICT competence scores in China, whereas science and mathematics achievement scores were not predicted by scores on ICT competence in Germany. Similar patterns were found in China and Germany in terms of perceived autonomy in using ICT and social relatedness in using ICT to predict students’ achievement. The implications of all the findings were discussed.