Objective: Through detection of serum cytokines and immune factors from the hospitalized elderly patients with depression, and further analysis of the correlations between concentration variations and clinical symptoms and therapeutic effect, we sought to provide potential objective criteria for diagnosis, evaluation of therapeutic effect and treatment of depression in elderly patients. Methods: This study was an observational study on natural state. A total of 109 hospitalized patients meeting the diagnostic criteria for depressive episode, single or recurrent depressive disorder in ICD-10, aged ≥60, were enrolled in this study. Cytokines and immune factors were detected and meanwhile HAMD and HAMA were used to estimate depression and anxiety and each sub index of patients. The detection and assessment were completed at baseline and the end of treatment for 4 weeks. Results: The values of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF before treatment and IL-1β after treatment of the patient group were higher than those of the control group. In the patient group, the values of IL-6 , IL-10 and TNF after treatment were lower than those before treatment, and all the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.001 and P＜0.05).The values of CRF and C3 of the patient group after treatment were significantly lower than those before treatment, and the values of IgG and IgM were significantly higher than those before treatment, and all the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.001 and P＜0.05).At baseline of the patient group, positive correlations were found between IL-6 and sleep disorder, IL-8, IL-10 and diurnal variation, TNF and anxiety/somatic, HAMA total score, mental anxiety (P＜0.05 and P＜0.001). In the patient group, before and after treatment, the change of IL-8 concentration was negatively related with the reductive scores of retardation factor of HAMD, and the change of TNF concentration was positively related with the reductive scores of mental anxiety factor and somatic anxiety factor of HAMA (P＜0.05). Conclusion: In the elderly patients with depression, there is a cytokine mediated immune dysfunction, which may be mediated by humoral immune response. The change of TNF concentration may be an indicator of the efficacy of depression in elderly patients.