[Purpose/significance] This paper develops a feasible and effective questionnaire for the metacognitive measurement issues of university student in multi-faceted and exploratory search situation. It designs four different types of exploratory search situation, and conducts multi-dimensional analysis and evaluation of the subjects' metacognitive performance under each prescribed situation. [Method/process] In this paper, we used metacognitive theory to design"exploratory search meta-cognitive assessment questionnaire", and conducted its reliability and validity test in pilot study. Besides, by conducting a search test, we selected 60 university students to conduct exploratory search tasks and gave them a questionnaire in the formal evaluation process. In this process,we also used Camtasia Studio to record the search images and conducted a post-interview. Through the survey data, search behavior videos and interviews, we analysed users' cognition of search tasks and self-cognitive, search process monitoring and search process evaluation in four different types of exploratory search situation. [Result/conclusion] On the one hand, the questionnaire has good coefficient of internal consistency reliability and validity, and it can be used as an effective tool to measure university students' exploratory search metacognitive level (or performance). On the other hand, according to the dimensional data analysis result, university students' self-cognitive, tasks comprehension and search obstacle monitoring capability are relatively less when faced with decision type problem (evaluation decision search) and research problem (knowledge acquisition search task). According to the results, we propose suggestions to improve the university students' exploratory search abilities from three aspects-information literacy education, cultivation of SQ and human-computer interaction function of web search system.