Purpose : This study was conducted using a descriptive correlational survey design to identify how the middle-aged women perceived depression and to examine the relationship among depression, health promoting behavior, self-esteem, and optimism. Method : Data were collected through self-reported questionnaires from 116 middle-aged women living in D-city from January to March in 2002. Data collection instruments were Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale(CES-D), Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile(HPLP-Ⅱ), Rosenberg`s Self-Esteem, and Scheier & Carver`s Life Orientation Test. The data collected were analysed using mean. S.D., t-test, F-test, Scheffe. Person Correlation Coefficient, and Stepwise Multiple Regression, aided with SPSS/WIN. Result : There was a significant correlation between depression and health promoting behavior(r=-.251). There was a significant correlation between depression and self-esteem(r=-.522). The relationship between depression and optimism was a significant correlation(r=-.407). For the depression regarding demographic characteristics, there were significant differences in age, educational level, monthly income, medical history of subject, medical history of subject` family, and economic status. Self-esteem was the highest factor predicting depression for the middle-aged women. Self-esteem, age, optimism, and economic status accounted for 39.8% of the total variance. Conclusion : The results of this study suggest that there is a need to develop intervention considering self-esteem and optimism to alleviated degree of depression in middle-aged women.