To take the rural elderly in Anhui Province as an example to clarify the current situation of depressive symptoms and to explore the risk factors, and so as to provide a theoretical basis for the decision-making work. A multi-stage random sampling and household survey method was used, 3349 rural elderly in Anhui Province were investigated by general demographic data questionnaire and GDS scale. Descriptive analysis, t-test, ANOVA, c²-test and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 52.9%, among which 62.3% and 47.6% were in poor group and non-poor group respectively; GDS score was 12.40±7.09, and the poor group (14.05±6.93) was higher than the non poor group (11.47±7.01). The results of logistic regression analysis showed that: poverty, increasing age, female, illiterate/semi-illiterate, no occupational status, not living alone, more kinds of chronic diseases, having lived in hospital within one year and had physical discomfort within two weeks, the detection rate of depressive symptoms was higher; compared with the old people whose economic source was farming, the detection rate of depressive symptoms of migrant workers and self-employed workers was lower. There were differences in the influencing factors of depression symptoms between the poor group and non-poor group. The prevalence of depressive symptoms of rural elderly in Anhui Province was higher, the prevalence of depressive symptoms in the poor elderly was higher than that in the non poor elderly. Depressive symptoms was associated with many factors, more attention should be paid to this situation and more psychological intervention should be given to the elderly.