OBJECTIVE： To systematically evaluate the pharnacoeconomic effect of venlafaxine and escitalopram in the treatment of depressive disorders. METHODS： Using “venlafaxine” “escitalopram” “depression” “depressive episode” “antidepressant” as key words， retrieved from CNKI， VIP and Wanfang database during base creation date to Dec. 2015， related literatures about venlafaxine and escitalopram in the treatment of depressive disorders were selected. The cure rate of two therapy plans for depressive disorders and HAMD score were analyzed statistically by cost-effectiveness analysis of pharnacoeconomics. RESULTS： There was no statistical significance in cure rate and HAMD score between 2 groups （P＞0.05）， so minimum-cost analysis was adopted. The costs of venlafaxine and escitalopram in the treatment of depressive disorders were 772.03 yuan and 935.77 yuan. CONCLUSIONS： Therapeutic efficacy of venlafaxine is similar to that of escitalopram in the treatment of depressive disorders， but the former scheme is more economical.