Abstract: Promoting the sharing of digital dividends among all citizens is a crucial component of advancing common prosperity and achieving the strategic goal of Chinese-style modernization. The study aims to deepen the academic understanding of digital literacy and digital divide by exploring the interrelationship between reading behaviors and digital literacy, to promote the construction of a digital society, and thus to enhance China's international competitiveness in the digital age. The study utilizes the CGSS2017 data to comprehensively formulate an evaluation index system for citizens' digital literacy, establishes an impact model of reading behavior on digital literacy for regression analysis, and further investigates the effects of reading behavior on digital literacy from the perspective of the digital divide. The results show that both dimensions of reading behaviors—reading frequency and reading volume—can positively enhance citizens' digital literacy. Notably, digital reading behavior exhibits a more significant effect on promoting digital literacy compared to traditional paper-based reading. Reading behaviors positively influence citizens' digital literacy through three pathways: self-efficacy effects, economic status effects, and learning effects. Furthermore, reading behavior has a greater promoting effect on the digital literacy of most digitally disadvantaged groups, thus helping to bridge the digital divide to a certain extent. Accordingly, the study suggests that relevant authorities should reassess the value of reading from the perspective of improving digital literacy, fully tap into the potential of reading from the perspective of bridging the digital divide, and carefully regulate publications from the perspective of maintaining digital security. These findings systematically reveal the role and multidimensional mechanisms of reading behavior in enhancing digital literacy. The study explores potential pathways for bridging the digital divide, contributing to the expansion of the digital divide theory, formulating digital literacy improvement strategies, and promoting balanced development in the digital society.