Objective To study the status of depression and perceived social support and to explore the correlation between them in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods A number of 242 cases with type 2 diabetes were assessed with personal information questionnaire, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (ZSDS) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). The correlation between depression and perceived social support was analyzed by Pearson correlation and Stepwise multiple regression analysis. Results The prevalence of depression was 46.3% and total score of perceived social support in patients with type 2 diabetes was (4.96 ± 1.17); the scores of social support and each dimension in depression group were lower than those without depression group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.01); a significant negative correlation was found between depression and social support. Conclusions More adequate social support is associated with lower level of depression in patients with type 2 diabetes. We should pay more attention to the role of social support system in depression.