Abstract:Objective To explore the correlation between community elderly depression and psychological capital, and to provide the basis for promoting mental health in the elderly. Methods The stratified random sampling method was adopted, and the Center for Epidemiological studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and psychological capital questionnaire were used to survey 500 community elderly people. Results Different sex, spouse status, degree of education, income and dwell brought significant difference in the score of depression (P < 0.05). Different age, sex, spouse status, degree of education, income, dwell brought significant difference in the score of psychological capital (P < 0.05). The total score of depression and each dimension and the total score of psychological capital and all dimensions were negative correlation (P < 0.01). Multiple liner regression results showed that age, sex, degree of education and dwell were the control variables. Conclusions Depression is associated with psychological capital. Psychological intervention for the elderly can improve the psychological capital and reduce the rate of depression.