OBJECTIVE: To assess the therapeutic effect of acupuncture on depression. METHODS: A systematic evaluation of all relevant randomized controlled trials (RCT) about acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of depression was carried out by the study methods of evidence-based medicine. The data were statistically analyzed with a special analysis software RevMan 4.2. RESULTS: Fourteen papers of RCT met the enrolled criteria. Four of the trials used double-blind method. Meta-analysis indicated that the effective rate was no significant difference between the acupuncture treatment and medication, and acupuncture treatment is better than Amitriptyline in improvement of HAMD scores, but no significant differences as compared with other drugs. CONCLUSION: Both acupuncture and medication possibly are effective for depression with good safety. However, because of lower methodological quality of the trials, this conclusion needs further be confirmed.