ObjectiveTo systematically review the association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease （NAFLD） and depression， and to provide a basis for synergistic management in clinical practice. MethodsThis study was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines， with the PROSPERO registration number of CRD42023482013. PubMed， Embase， the Cochrane Library， Web of Science， CNKI， Wanfang Data， VIP， and CBM were searched for articles on the association between NAFLD and depression published up to November 1， 2024. The articles were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria， and related data were extracted. RevMan 5.3 was used to perform the Meta-analysis. ResultsA total of 18 studies were included， involving 396 793 participants. Among these studies， 12 discussed the influence of NAFLD on depression， involving 224 269 participants， among whom there were 75 574 patients with NAFLD. The Meta-analysis showed that NAFLD was significantly associated with the risk of depression （odds ratio ［OR］=1.21， 95% confidence interval ［CI］： 1.12 — 1.30， P0.001）. Six studies examined the influence of depression on NAFLD， involving 172 524 participants， among whom there were 29 368 patients with depression. The meta-analysis showed that depression caused a significant increase in the risk of NAFLD （OR=1.13， 95%CI： 1.05 — 1.22， P=0.001）. ConclusionThere is a significant bidirectional association between NAFLD and depression. It is recommended to perform the screening for depression and enhance mental health monitoring in patients with NAFLD， and metabolic function assessment and exercise intervention should be performed for patients with depression.