Abstract: Objective To explore the prevalence of depression and its influencing factors among retirees in communities,and to offer basic data for community intervention.Methods The participants were selected with cluster sampling and general demographic scale,Geriatric Depression Scale-15(GDS-15),Well Being Index(WHO-5),Social Support Questionnaire and Self-Commitment Sleep Scale were used in the survey.The data were processed with EpiData 3.0 and analyzed with statistical package SPSS 18.0.Results The prevalence of depression symptoms was 23.7% among the community retirees.There were significant associations between depression and marital status,age,education level,insomnia,life satisfaction,and social support by univariate analysis(P<0.05).The results of multivariate logistic analysis indicated that the protective factors of depression symptoms included at the age of 60-69 years(odds ratio OR=0.53,95% confidence interval 95%CI=0.36-0.78),at the age of 70-80 years(OR=0.47,95%CI=0.28-0.79),high school or equivalent education background or above(OR=0.49,95%CI=0.30-0.80),and with objective social support(OR=0.47,95%CI=4.69-11.99),while the risk factors included manual labor history(OR=1.67,95%CI=1.02-2.75)and having worse life satisfaction(OR=7.50,95%CI=4.69-11.99).Conclusion Improving life satisfaction,increasing social support and reducing insomnia are helpful for the control of depression symptoms among community retirees.