Objective：To compare the individual reminiscence therapy and application effect of group reminiscence therapy for emo－tional depression in the elderly in pension institutions. Methods：Totally 98 elderly patients with mild to moderate depressive symptoms were randomly divided into individual reminiscence therapy group（n=49） and group reminiscence therapy group（n=49）. They were given 8 weeks of individual and group reminiscence treatment. The geriatric depression scale，life satisfaction scale were used to assess depression and life satisfaction of the elderly before and after intervention. Results：There was no significant difference in depression scores and satisfaction score between the two groups before intervention（t=-0.894，P=0.374；t=-1.647，P=0.103）. There were significant differences in depression scores and life satisfaction score between the two groups after intervention（t=-3.672，P=0.000；t=3.735，P=0.000）. There were significant differences in scores of depression and life satisfaction between the two groups before and after in－tervention（P=0.000）. Conclusion：The individual reminiscence therapy and group reminiscence therapy can significantly alleviate the elderly depression and improve the life satisfaction of the elderly. Group reminiscence therapy is effective for elderly people with mild or moderate depression，while individual reminiscence is more suitable for relieving the elderly with mild depression. This study can be used as a reference for the application of reminiscence therapy.