Based on the data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) 2015 and the statistical yearbooks of 89 corresponding prefectures, this paper constructs an ordered probit model and a mediation effect model to explore the logic of how environmental regulation and environmental accountability jointly influence public satisfaction with environmental governance. The results indicate that both the intensity of environmental regulation and the cognition of environmental accountability significantly promote public satisfaction with environmental governance. Notably, public environmental accountability cognition plays a partial mediating role in the influence of environmental regulation on environmental governance satisfaction. Further analysis reveals that this mediating effect is unique to urban groups, with notable differences observed between urban and rural areas. Consequently, this paper suggests policy implications, such as optimizing and innovating the environmental accountability system while actively guiding the public to engage in orderly environmental governance supervision.