Objective:To investigate the characteristic of life events and social support in patients with major depression.Methods:A cohort of 96 major depressed in-patients was assessed on admission. The assessments included Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), the Life Events Scale and the Social Support Scale. Ninety-nine healthy subjects were assessed too.Results:Compared with the controls, the patients experienced more stressful life events and got more subjective social support, but the utilization of social support was lower in the patient group. There was no gender difference in the life events and social support. The patients experiencing more life events got less subjective social support and social support as a whole.Conclusions:The depressed patients experience more life events.Social support acts as one of the cushion factors between life events and the onset of major depression.