Depression is a common mood disorder in perioperative period.Both preoperative depres-sion and postoperative new depression can affect postoperative rehabilitation of patients,and there is a lack of effective intervention measures.Related studies have indicated that esketamine can alleviate perioperative depressive symptoms.In order to provide references for clinical work and reduce the occurrence of periopera-tive depression,this review summarizes perioperative depression,esketamine and its anti-depression mecha-nism,the application of esketamine in prevention and treatment of perioperative depression and its related adverse reactions.