AimsThe aims of the study were to describe coping strategies in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder at the early stage of diagnosis and to examine the predictive effects of parenting confidence and social support on coping strategies.DesignA descriptive cross‐sectional study.MethodsA convenience sample of 193 parents of children newly diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in Guangzhou, China, were included from October 2020 to January 2021. The Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire, Parenting Sense of Competence Scale and Social Support Rating Scale were employed for data collection. Multiple hierarchical regression analyses examined the relationship between coping strategies and the independent variables.ResultsThe mean positive coping strategies score was higher than the negative coping strategies score. Parenting efficacy, subjective support and support utilization predicted positive coping strategies, and parenting satisfaction was a protective factor against negative coping strategies.ConclusionParents tend to engage in positive coping at the early stage of diagnosis. Improving parenting confidence and social support might help parents adopt positive coping strategies and prevent negative coping.ImpactMore effective and long‐term support for families of children with autism spectrum disorder is expected. Interventions should be focused on enhancing parenting satisfaction and efficacy to employ positive coping strategies and decrease negative coping.Reporting MethodWe adhered to EQUATOR guidelines and reported results based on STROBE guidelines.Patient or Public ContributionNo patient or public involvement.