Summary: Depression is – along with dementia and delirium – one of the most common psychogeriatric syndromes. Its incidence increases with the advancement of old age, but awareness of the importance of this problem is still too low. Depression is insufficiently diagnosed and treated in elderly patients. This results in a number of adverse consequences: deterioration of the functioning of the elderly and loss of the ability to live independently, the patient’s worse cooperation in the treatment of other diseases, increased risk of hospitalization, institutionalization and premature death. The picture of the disease is often not typical and the diagnosis is also difficult due to the presence of a number of other diseases and disabilities. Treatment of depression should be multidirectional, based on cooperation in an interdisciplinary team: psychiatrist, geriatrician, family doctor. When selecting an antidepressant, the patient's psychopathological profile and contraindications resulting from comorbidities should be taken into account, and the recommended duration of therapy in older patients is usually longer.