The role of ambidextrous leadership behavior has received insufficient attention in the project context both empirically and theoretically. This study assessed how ambidextrous leadership affected project success in Chinese construction industries. Additionally, it investigated whether team absorptive capacity and team efficacy linked the relationship between ambidextrous leadership and project success and how this relationship varied with the moderating role of project complexity. The conceptual model was validated with cross-sectional data collected from 361 project team members working in construction industries in China via partial least square structural equation modeling using Smart PLS. The results showed that ambidextrous leadership as a dynamic leadership style had a positive impact on project success. And evidence had been illustrated that team-level mediators including team absorptive capacity and team efficacy partially mediated the relationship. Moreover, the relationship strengthened when the project complexity level increased. This research attempted to apply ambidextrous leadership in the project management field, providing a moderated mediating model through the lens of social cognitive theory and contingency theory. Therefore, the findings can assist project managers to combine the application of ambidextrous leadership and the attention on cultivating organizational learning and motivating collective confidence, especially when dealing with a project with different complexity levels in an attempt to improve project performance.