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Background: Optimal job performance of special need school teachers is marked by high work engagement, which showed perseverance, enthusiasm, and absorption at work. Work engagement is influenced by several factors, one of them is personal resources. Personal resource that considered important in people's success is emotional intelligence. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence and work engagement of teachers at Sekolah Luar Biasa Negeri, a public special need school in Semarang. Method: The study was conducted in a cross sectional design. Data were collected from 60 teachers, using Work Engagement Scale (33 item; = 93) and Emotional Intelligence Scale (32 item; = 93). Results: Simple linear regression analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between emotional intelligence and work engagement, r = 87; (p < 001). Higher emotional intelligence is likely to lead to higher work engagement. Emotional intelligence contributed to 74.8% of the variance in work engagement. Conclusion: Teachers are expected to manage emotion better in order to achieve high work engagement.