Aim: The purpose of this study is to explore the depression status of a group of community-dwelling older persons in Macau, and to identify factors related to depression among older persons in Macau. Background: Depression is a significant mental health problem among Chinese older persons, which poses a grave threat to older persons' lives, unfortunately, is frequently under-detected and usually untreated in primary health care. Attention must turn to better understanding the factors related to depression among older persons in Macau. Method: A descriptive survey was conducted during the period July and August 2004 in six parishes in Macau; 1881 older persons aged from 60 years to 98 years completed a structured questionnaire. Four main outcome variables were employed in the study: predisposing characteristics, physical, psycho-social and health needs/behaviours outcomes. Findings: 10.4% (n=196) among the older persons had been identified as depressed Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to identify a model to predict older persons who will have depression. The results showed that variables like being female (p=0.019), poor ability to meet living costs (p=0.000), a poor social network (p=0.000), low level of activities of daily living (p=0.020), poor ability to do heavy housework (p=0.009), suffering stroke (p=0.034), insomnia (p=0.000), palpitations (p=0.027), and low self-perceived scores on health status (p=0.000) were significant risk factors for depression among older persons. Conclusions: The factors related to depression among older persons are not only biological changes and physical limitations, but also lie in their social, family and day to day living conditions. Enhancing social connection and providing suitable living conditions for older persons may improve depressive symptoms Furthermore, improving their health conditions and functional abilities may be crucial for preventing suffering from depressive symptoms