The way Malay youth regulate their emotions relates to how they experience loneliness and shapes how they use social media, particularly TikTok. Yet these mechanisms remain underexplored despite TikTok’s prominence and potential to foster passive consumption. This study addresses this gap by examining the role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies in linking loneliness to passive TikTok use. An online cross-sectional survey was completed by 190 Malay youth TikTok users, with usage histories from two months to seven years. Measures included loneliness, cognitive emotion regulation strategies, and passive social media use. Over half reported moderate loneliness (55.3%), and more than one-third reported high loneliness (38.4%). Adaptive strategies were used more frequently than maladaptive ones. Mediation analysis revealed two indirect pathways. First, greater loneliness was associated with higher passive TikTok use through increased reliance on maladaptive strategies; B = .05, bootstrapped SE = .02, 95% CI [.01, .10]. Second, higher loneliness was also linked to greater passive TikTok use through reduced use of adaptive strategies; B = -.04, bootstrapped SE = .02, 95% CI [-.08, -.01]. Cognitive emotion regulation appears to be a central mechanism linking loneliness with passive TikTok use, highlighting it as a key target for interventions to foster healthier digital engagement and stronger psychological well-being in youth.