Abstract：As a complex mental illness，first-line therapeutic drugs for depression often cause adverse reactions. Chaihu Shugan Powder， a classic Chinese medicine compound， has been shown in a number of clinical and basic studies to exert good antidepressant effects by improving depressive symptoms，sleep disorders，and traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores. Its mechanism of action involves the coordinated effect of multiple targets，such as regulating neurotrophic factors， regulating monoamine neurotransmitters， regulating signal pathways， and anti-inflammatory responses. This article summarizes the research progress on the clinical application and mechanism of Chaihu Shugan Powder in antidepressant treatment， deeply discusses the limitations of current research， and looks forward to the future research direction，so as to provide reference for the further research of Chaihu Shugan Powder in antidepressant treatment.