The appreciation of music is a process involving various psychological changes. This paper aims to disclose the influence of music appreciation on self-cognition of college students. To this end, a random questionnaire survey was carried out on college students from 6 universities in Nanjing, China, collecting information on their daily time, motivation and requirements of music listening. Referring to the relevant literature, the collected data were analyzed in details to identify how and how much music appreciation influences the self-cognition of college students. The results show that music appreciation is a situational factor that positively affects the thinking mode and behavioral pattern of college students; the emotions expressed by music are generally consistent with the psychological status of college students; the type of favorite music reflects the emotion of college students, which is inseparable from their cognitive ability. This research indicates the possibility to regulate self-cognition of college students with music.