According to the compensatory internet use theory, adolescents with emotional dysregulation may increasingly rely on mobile phones to alleviate negative emotions. Conversely, problematic mobile phone use (PMPU), which has been identified as a behavioral addiction, can impair emotional processing and regulation abilities, potentially creating a vicious cycle. However, previous studies have explored PMPU and emotional regulation using latent variables. To address this gap, this study employed network analysis to (i) examine cross-sectional networks of adolescents' PMPU and emotional dysregulation symptoms and evaluate their replicability and (ii) explore their longitudinal cross-lagged comorbidity network. A sample of 1,527 students from grades 7 and 11 (M = 15.16, SD = 1.68) completed questionnaires on PMPU and emotional dysregulation at two time points spaced six months apart. The Problematic Mobile Phone Use Scale and the Brief Emotional Regulation Difficulty Scale were used to measure the symptoms of PMPU and emotional dysregulation, respectively. The study found that adolescents' emotional dysregulation directly influenced their PMPU. Additionally, lack of emotional clarity (a dimension of emotional regulation difficulties) and withdrawal symptoms (a dimension of PMPU) demonstrated the greatest predictive power within the comorbidity network, while limited access to emotion regulation strategies had the highest in-strength centrality. This study enriches the understanding of the dynamic association between PMPU and emotional dysregulation among adolescents, and emotional dysregulation was identified as a key factor influencing PMPU among adolescents. Developing prevention and intervention programs that target these core influencing factors would be more cost-effective.