Today, due to the importance of the concept of participation and civic and popular traditions in development, some researchers consider development to be synonymous with participation. The word participation is related to the acceptance of justice and the principle of equality of people. Therefore, real development is achieved when it serves the realization of this moral and human value and goal. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between social justice and participatory development using a survey method. The statistical population of the study was 12,041 students at the University of Mazandaran, and according to the Cochran formula, 397 students completed the questionnaire using a stratified sampling method proportional to the volume. The results show that there is a significant positive relationship between social justice and participatory development. The results of the regression analysis show that 9.4 percent of the variance of participatory development is explained by the procedural justice variable. Therefore, it can be said that procedural justice increases the capacity of individuals to participate in collective processes by strengthening social belonging, social trust, and hope, and thus provides the necessary social context for participatory development.