Abstract: This study investigates whether different translation directions can affect student translators' allocation of cognitive resources by triangulating eye-tracking, screen recording, retrospective protocols, and questionnaires.Our observation of the data reveals three significant findings:1) their average fixation duration and fixation count were fewer in direct translation, indicating that direct translation is less cognitively demanding than inverse translation; 2) they had a more global orientation in direct translation, allocating more cognitive resources for reading and revising.In contrast, they displayed a more locally-oriented style in inverse translation, allocating more cognitive resources for drafting; 3) those with a globally-oriented style were more likely to produce a higher quality translation in direct translation, while a more locally-oriented manner would generate better products in inverse translation.This article provides empirical support for ongoing research on cognitive processing in different translation directions.