ObjectivesTo systematically review the prevalence of depression in the elderly in China.MethodsPubMed, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect cross-sectional studies on the prevalence of depression of Chinese elderly from January 2010 to July 2019. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed risk of bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 22 cross-sectional studies involving 12 656 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that the overall prevalence of depression in Chinese elderly was 25.55% (95%CI 19.81% to 31.29%). Subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence of females was higher than that of males; the prevalence in the north was higher than that in the south; the prevalence in rural areas was higher than that in cities; the prevalence of CES-D assessment scale was higher than that of GDS-30; the prevalence of depression increased annually of data collection.ConclusionThe prevalence of depression in the elderly (aged 60 years and above) in China is high. More attention should be paid to this situation and more psychological intervention should be provided to the elderly. Due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, more high-quality studies are required to verify the above conclusion.