This study attempted to analyze learning strategies used by Hong Kong university students for learning English. Results indicate that Cantonese native speakers mostly used cognitive strategies when learning English, while memory strategies were the least used. Besides, the use of memory strategies among males varied significantly, and little difference was observed in the use of metacognitive strategies by females. The use of cognitive strategies was significantly associated with grade level, with fourth-year students using cognitive strategies more often than fifth-year students. Finally, on correlating the daily study time with cognitive strategies, it was observed that students who studied more than 0.5 hours a day used cognitive strategies more frequently than those who studied less than 0.5 hours a day. This study not only provides new evidence that grade level and study time affect the use of English learning strategies in Hong Kong, but also yields some important pedagogical implications. Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.