Urban talent retention, particularly the retention of university graduates within their host cities, has emerged as a critical driver of regional economic and social development. Previous research on whether university students stay in the cities where they went to university has focused more on socioeconomic and demographic factors than on city image and individual perceptions. This paper adopts city image theories to explore how city attribute perception and city image (including cognitive and affective images) affect the stay intentions of university students in both short- and long-term periods. Structural equation modelling shows that both cognitive and affective images are positively associated with the university students' stay intentions. Specifically, cognitive image exhibits a stronger correlation with short-term stay intentions, whereas affective image has a greater association with long-term stay intentions. Regarding city attribute perceptions, cultural quality emerges as the most significant factor in enhancing city image perception and stay intentions, followed by economic development and other attribute perceptions.