This study verified the moderating effect of the effortful control of the child in the relationship between the father s empathy and the child s externalization behavior problem when the father s parenting participation affected the child s externalization behavior problem through the medium of the father s empathy. For this purpose, the study conducted a survey on the father s participation in child rearing, the problem of externalization of children, the father s empathy, and the effortful control of children with 303 fathers aged 3 to 5. The results of this study were summarized as follows: First, there was a significant correlation between each variable, and father s parenting participation had a significant effect on children s externalization behavior problem through the medium of father s empathy. In addition, it was confirmed that the effortful control of the child controlled the relationship between father s empathy and children s externalization behavior problem, and that the effortful control of the relationship between father s empathy and children s externalization behavior problem was controlled when father s participation in child rearing affected children s externalization problem through father s empathy. Finally, the significance of this study, future research directions and limitations were discussed.