Background and purpose: Depression is one of the most common psychological disorders, which has attracted researchers’ attention. Many studies have introduced cognitive-behavioral therapy as an effective treatment for depression. Therefore, current study aimed to investigate the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy on the reduction of depression among students.

Method: Current research was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest control group design. Among all the students referred to the Welfare and Educational Counseling Center of Kermanshah City, 30 students with severe depression were selected using convenient sampling method and randomly assigned to experimental and control group. Data were collected using clinical interview based on fourth edition of diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (American Association of Psychology, 2000) and Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (Angold & et al, 1987).

Results: Results showed that cognitive-behavioral therapy significantly reduced depression among experimental group in posttest (p < .0001).

Conclusion: according to our findings, cognitive-behavioral therapy can be used as an effective treatment for emotional-behavioral problems among students. Implications are discussed in paper.