The present study aimed to identify the factors affecting marriage delay among young people aged 18 to 35 in Kerman , focusing on economic, cultural, social, family, psychological, structural and institutional dimensions, and examining the interaction of these factors in youth decision-making. The research was of an applied type and with a mixed approach. In the qualitative section. The community included all relevant domestic (Sayed, Normags, Irandoc) and foreign (Scopus, Google Scholar) research. After a systematic search, 89 studies were identified and 32 reliable sources were selected. The analysis included open coding (220 initial codes), axial (40 subcategories), and selective (7 main categories). Validity was ensured by Lincoln and Guba criteria and reliability by inter-coder agreement of 87%. In the quantitative section, the statistical population was young people aged 18–35 living in 23 counties of Kerman province (1,211,312 people, estimated at 1403). The sample size was determined to be 400 people (Cochran formula, 95% confidence, 5% margin of error, adding 10% attrition). The stratified sampling method was proportional to the population of each city. The instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire with 220 items on a 5-point Likert scale (Cronbach's alpha overall 0.96). Analysis was performed with multiple linear regression in SPSS version 26. The findings showed that all factors significantly (p < 0.05) affected marriage delay, with positive β coefficients and the greatest role for economic and cultural factors. The results are consistent with modernization theories (Durkheim and Parsons), Bourdieu's social capital, and Becker's human capital