Objective To explore the quality of life and the influential factors in children with depression. Methods Questionnaire survey and interview method were adopted in this study.Stratified random cluster sampling identified 3 685 grade 3 to grade 5 students from 7 primary schools of the Pudong district in Shanghai.Students were screened using the self-completion Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC);those who scored ≥20 were administered the present state version of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for school-age children (K-SADS) by a clinician and subsequently diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria.Finally a total of 55 children who met diagnostic criteria for depressive disorder as the depression group and 54 healthy children as the control group were assessed and compared with the Children and Adolescents' Quality of Life Scale (CAQOL). Results The overall CAQOL scores and most of the CAQOL subscale scores (teacher-student relationship,peer relationships,parent-child relationship,self-awareness,physical discomfort,negative emotions,attitude about homework,access to transportation from home,extra curricular activities,athletic ability,self-esteem) in children with depressive disorder were significantly higher than those of health controls(P<0.01).Scores on CES-DC were negatively correlated with the overall CAQOL scores(r=-0.303,P=0.026).Utilizing multiple stepwise regression found that 9 factors impact on quality of life among children,such as CES-DC total scores,educational level of mothers,family atmosphere,living conditions,mother-child relationship,father-child relationship,educational level of fathers,physical condition,gender. Conclusion The quality of life of children with depression is poor.This situation should attracted much attention.