Objective To investigate the effects of aerobic exercise intervention on depression and social function for patients with depression symptoms in the hospital. Methods A total of 60 patients with depression were selected in Shanghai Mental Health Center， and were divided into 2 groups by random number table， 30 in the research group and 30 in the control group. The control group was treated with antidepressant drugs and conventional nursing service. Besides the same treatment received in the research group， patients in the control group had done aerobic exercise such as rope skipping and jogging for 8 weeks. All patients were scored by HAMD， Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation（ NOSIE-30）， Social Disability Screen Schedule（ SDSS） before the research and at the 4th， 8th week after intervention. Results Through antidepressant drugs， conventional nursing service and aerobic exercise intervention， the scores of HAMD and SDSS at end of the 8th week of both groups were lower than before， and the result of research group is more significant（ P ＜ 0.01）. After intervention， total positive factors of NOSIE-30 and overall assessment of both groups were higher， especially the research group（ P＜0.01）. The score of total negative factors is lower than that before intervention， especially the research group（ P ＜ 0.01）. Conclusions Aerobic exercise can significantly improve depression symptoms and social function of patients with depression.