People have a fundamental need to believe that the world is a fair place, where they get what they deserve and deserve what they get (Lerner, 1980). This research investigates individuals' explanation about others' success when the need to believe in a just world is activated by personal injustice. When the justice motive is activated, individuals with weak just-world beliefs may give less credit to a person who experiences success (make fewer internal attributions for the success) because their own personal deservingness is threatened. In contrast, the attributions of individuals with strong just-world beliefs may be unmoved when the justice motive is activated, because their personal deservingness is not affected by recalling personal injustice. In support of this hypothesis, Studies 1 and 2 found that individuals with weak just-world beliefs made fewer internal attributions for another's promotion (Study 1) or winning a lottery (Study 2) after they recalled their own unfair experience, compared with the control condition; individuals with strong just-world beliefs credited the winner to the same extent when the justice motive is activated compared to when it is not. Study 3 tested whether this pattern could be explained by personal deservingness. Results showed that when individuals with weak just-world beliefs recalled injustice in their life, their personal deservingness was threatened, and thus they made fewer internal attributions for another's promotion; when individuals with strong just-world beliefs recalled injustice, their personal deservingness was unaffected.