Abstract: Objective To investigate the prevalence and distribution of depression disorders among people aged more than 15 years in rural areas of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Methods From July to December 2007,13 910 subjects aged more than 15 years were randomly selected with stratified multi-stage cluster sampling. All subjects were investigated with a face-to-face interview. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3. 0（ CIDI 3. 0） was used as the screening tool and the diagnoses were made based on International Classification of Disease-10th Edition. Results Totally 11 191 subjects completed the screening and the completion rate was 80. 45%. The overall point prevalence was 3. 66‰ and the overally lifetime prevalence was 5. 27‰. The overall lifetime prevalence of depression disorders was higher in the female（ 6. 54‰） than in the male（ 4. 11‰）,but the difference was not significant（ P ＞ 0. 05）.There were significant differences in the lifetime prevalence among the people of different age and marriage status（ P ＜0. 05）,with higher prevalences of depression disorders in the people aged 55- 64 years and the divorced. There were no significant differences（ P ＞ 0. 05） in the lifetime prevalence among the people with different education level and between Zhuang and Han ethnicity. Conclusion The prevalence of depression disorders is high among rural residents in Guangxi and strategy should be made to prevent and control the disease.