Objectives: Depression is the most common mood and psychiatric disorder. The aim of this study was to provide a clear picture of the prevalence, risk factors and interventions of depression in Iranian elderly.

Methods & Materials: This study is a systematic review. Statistic population included Farsi and English studies with various aspects of depression in elderly. Keywords "Depression, Dysthymia, Melancholia, mood disorder, Iran and elderly" in Medline, SID, Iran doc, Iran medex, Mag iran and Iran psych database were searched. Then, repeated articles and articles outside the study period (1997 to 2011) were excluded. In the first stage of screening, titles and in the second stage, abstracts were reviewed by two experts. Afterwards papers were evaluated qualitatively based on Critical Appraisal Skills Program site.

Results: After searching, screening and qualitative evaluation studies, the final synthesis was performed on 26 articles. Synthesis papers related to aging showed that the prevalence of depressive disorder in elderly residents at home with the back is 95.64% and with the GDS 81.85%. The prevalence of depression in the elderly living at home with the GDS was 57.58%. The most important factors associated with depression in Iranian studies were, female gender, marring status, living in a nursing home, education level, age and socio-economic status. Also, the most interventions in this age group were respectively psychotherapy, medication and exercise.

Conclusions: The high prevalence of depression in elderly in Iranian studies, the need for further Investigation and intervention, regard to factors associated with depression in this period.