Objective： To investigate the mental health of freshmen in Xiamen Un iversity. Methods: A total of 2 226 freshmen of 1998 from Xiamen University comp leted the SCL-90. Results: There were 153 students who sco red above 3 on one or more sub-scales. The most common mental health problems were compulsion, interpe rsonal sensitivity, and paranoia. Students from the College of Foreign Language, Art Education, Medicine, and Humanities reported more mental problems than thos e from the College of Computer and Information Engineering, Physics and Electrom echanical Engineering. Girls were more likely to suffer from phobic anxiety, dep ression, somatization, anxiety, and interpersonal sensitivity than boys, and the y were less hostile than boys. Conclusion: The mental heal th conditions were fou nd to be different for students from different colleges and departments. There w as also significant gender difference in major mental health problems.