Objectives This study reveals, from a middle school student perspective, the social support from parents, teach-ers, and friends, as well as the structural relationship of life satisfaction and self-esteem. Moreover, it explores the direct and indirect effects of social support on life satisfaction, focusing on the mediating effect of self-esteem. Methods For this purpose, the structural equation model was applied to Wave 4 of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey 2018(KCYPS 2018) data set(7th grade, N = 2,275), conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute. Results The results are as follows: First, teacher support perceived by middle school students had a direct and significant effect on life satisfaction. Second, friend support perceived by middle school students did not sig-nificantly affect life satisfaction through the mediating effect of self-esteem, indicating a complete mediation ef-fect of self-esteem on life satisfaction. Third, parents support perceived by middle school students did not sig-nificantly affect life satisfaction, suggesting that middle school students may be more influenced by relationships with teachers and friends than by their relationships with parents. Conclusions This study confirms the significant impact of teacher support on life satisfaction and the significant influence of friend support on self-esteem among middle school students. It is significant in confirming the struc-tural relationship between social support, self-esteem, and life satisfaction among middle school students and verifying the mediating effect of self-esteem between social support and life satisfaction.