Objectives To study the age and gender distribution of clinical and non-clinical depressive symptoms in chil-dren, and the potential link between non-clinical and clinical depressive symptoms. Methods 4520 children aged 8-15 years old were screened for mental disorders by Strength and Dififculties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Development and Well Being Assessment (DAWBA), and further assessed by the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children (DSSC). Fifty-three children diagnosed as depressive disorder were included in clinical group and 1504 children without depression disorders whose DSSC scores≥14 were included in non-clinical group. The relationship between gender, age and DSSC scores was analyzed. Results Interaction effect on DSSC scores between gender and age was found in clinical group (F=4.40, P=0.049), but not found in non-clinical group (F=1.04, P=0.409). DSSC scores of girls were higher than that of boys in clinical group (t=2.16, P=0.048). There was no statistically signiifcant main effect of gender in non-clinical group (F=0.21, P=0.646). No signiifcant difference in DSSC scores existed among different age groups in clinical group (F=0.82, P=0.573). There was signiifcant main effect of age in non-clinical group (F=1.96, P=0.048). Conclusions There were different age and gender distribution of clinical and non-clinical depressive symptoms in children.