Background The present study aimed at validating the Malay-language version of the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-3M) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Methods Data were collected from undergraduate students in the Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia. A total of 674 students completed the BREQ-3M (male: 19.4%, female: 80.6%), with a mean age of 20.27 years (SD = 1.35). Behavioural regulation was assessed with the 24-item BREQ-3M. Standard forward-backward translation was performed to translate the English version of BREQ-3 into the Malay version. Results The initial measurement models tested did not result in a good fit for the data. Subsequent examination of the CFA results suggested some modifications, including adding correlations between the item residuals within the same subscale and deletion of identified regulation. These modifications resulted in good fit indices (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation, RMSEA = 0.049; Comparative Fit Index, CFI = 0.949; Tucker-Lewis Index, TLI = 0.938; Standardised Root Mean Square Residual, SRMR = 0.049). The final measurement model comprised 20 items and had significant factor loadings of more than 0.50, ranging from 0.580 to 0.868. The composite reliability ranged between 0.746–0.841 for the five-factor model. Conclusions The 20-item translated version of BREQ-3M is valid and reliable for assessing the behavioural regulation for exercise among university students in Malaysia. Perspective This study examined the psychometric properties of the Malay-language BREQ-3. It was the first to assess the measurement model in Malaysia using CFA.

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