This study examined the cognitive factors influencing digital information evaluation competency among undergraduate students of Library and Information Science (LIS) at the University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. The research employed a descriptive survey design with a population of 1,080 undergraduate LIS students. Through multistage sampling, 285 students were selected across all academic levels. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.87. The results revealed that the majority of respondents (58.2%) demonstrated moderate digital information evaluation competency (X̅= 3.32, SD = 0.68). Critical thinking skills showed a significant positive correlation with competency (r = 0.64, p < 0.01), as did cognitive load management (r = 0.52, p < 0.01) and metacognitive awareness (r = 0.69, p < 0.01). Multiple regression analysis indicated that these three cognitive factors collectively explained 56% of the variance in digital information evaluation competency (R² = 0.56, F(3, 269) = 59.87, p < 0.001). The study concludes that metacognitive awareness appears to be the strongest predictor of competency. These findings may have implications for curriculum design in LIS education and highlight the potential importance of integrating cognitive skills training into information literacy instruction. It is recommended that LIS Department should integrate metacognitive instruction across LIS curricula, model expert thinking processes, and invest in faculty development for effective information literacy pedagogy.