Musculoskeletal disorders are of great concern because of the tendency to long-term disabling nature. The experience of trauma and pain all combine to worsen this. They are commonly accompanied by depression. Moreover, the psychological aspects of this remain largely unattended to. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of depression among orthopaedic inpatients, and to compare the finding with that from a control group. One hundred and thirty four patients, admitted to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, who met the inclusion criteria were studied. They were interviewed using a socio-demographic and 2 psychiatric instruments: the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV diagnosis (SCID) and the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). An equal number of control group, matched for age and sex, were also studied for comparison purposes. Data were analysed using the 10th version of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-10). The index sample consisted of 134 patients made up of 77 (57.5%) males and 57 (42.5%) females. Their orthopaedic problems were mostly trauma in nature, being the most predominant cause for admission in the hospital. Fifty-six (41.8%) subjects had single fractures of the long bones which were of the simple type; 24 (17.9%) had crush injury of the hands or feet; 19 (14.2%) had spinal injuries; 25 (18.7%) had multiple fractures mainly of the long bones, while the remaining 10(7.5%) had fractures of the pelvic bone. The overall prevalence of depression was found to be 31.3%. Major Depressive Episode was found in 28 (20.9%) of the subjects. Depression was commoner amongst females. Physical limitation, severity of pain and complications necessitating amputation were associated with being depressed. The prevalence of depression in the comparison group was 15.7% and 9.7% for Major Depressive Episode. The prevalences of depression (general, or major) among the patients are statistically significantly higher than in the control group (X= 6.48, p=0.011). Patients at risk of developing depression are those more likely to perceive themselves as highly physically limited. So also were patients who had severe pains. The results are comparable to those obtained in other studies. A multidisciplinary approach incorporating the psychological aspects of care should be introduced in the management of orthopaedic patients to reduce morbidity and improve their quality of life.