Objective To study the fingerprint characteristics of patients with depression. Methods Using anthropometry, the frequency of fingerprint pattern and white line of 202 patients with depression (140 females, 62 males) and 310 normal people (231 females, 79 males) of Tianjin Han people were compared and analyzed. Results The patients with depression had a higher frequency of simple whorl(wSUP>s/SUP>) in both hands than the normal group（ EM>P /EM>0.001）. The frequency of 6 or more wSUP>s/SUP> in the depression group was higher than that of the control group（ EM>P /EM>0.01）. The frequency of the radial loop and tented arch in the depression group was obviously higher than that of the normal, where as the frequency of the ulner loop and double loop whorl was obviously less than that of the normal group. The digital frequencies of the white line of fingerprints on each finger of female patients in depression were obviously higher than that of the control ( EM>P /EM><0.001), of the male the frequencies were also higher than that of the controls, but there were significant differences in the middle finger, ring finger and little finger（EM> P/EM> 0.05）. Conclusion