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Abstract With a national research-oriented atmosphere in tertiary institutions, many Chinese EFL teachers rise to the challenge by working collaboratively in professional communities, leading to increasing attention to collective agency. However, how their collective agency manifests remains underrepresented. Using a qualitative inductive method, this study investigated the manifestations of the collective agency among six university EFL teachers in a research institute of a Chinese university from a social cognitive perspective. It was found that the teachers’ collective agency manifested as their ability to form a collective mode of practice that aligned their professional goals and paths, to foster a dual-natured social network that supported professional development and to maintain a shared belief in group efficacy that enhanced collaboration and collective identity. The findings point to the importance of understanding collective agency as an emergent and contextualized phenomenon filled with complexities and nuances. Theoretically, the study enriches the understanding of the dynamism and complexities of teachers’ collective agency in a Chinese context and broadens the research perspectives of teacher collaboration. It also has practical implications for teachers and administrators who are seeking ways to cope with pressure in an era of research excellence.