Abstract Depression is a major public health issue among adolescents. The Ministry of Education of China recently proposed to integrate depression screening into students school health check among adolescents. However, there are inconsistencies regarding the strength of recommendation and implementation details of routine screening for adolescent depression across professional organizations and countries. This paper outlines the epidemiology and risk factors of adolescent depression and summarizes relevant international guidelines and recommendations. We suggest that before the national implementation of school based depression screening, key issues including scientific evidence, execution details, resource allocation and ethical considerations need to be examined in close collaboration with all stakeholders. Systematic piloting followed by rigorous evaluation will also be needed.