BACKGROUND Studies about the experience of caregiving are rare in Nigeria. The few existing studies often screened for psychiatric morbidity in a general sense, without making specific diagnoses. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to compare the prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders among mothers of children and adolescents with epilepsy and a matched control group of mothers of healthy children and adolescents. The study also examined the quality of life of the mothers. METHOD Mothers [n=150] of children with epilepsy attending the child and adolescent clinics in the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba Lagos and the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro Abeokuta were interviewed using a socio-demographic questionnaire, the World Health Organisation Quality of Life Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the sections on anxiety and depressive disorder in the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry. Age-matched controls [n=150] were also selected and interviewed using the same assessment tools. RESULTS The prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder and phobic disorder in mothers of children and adolescents with epilepsy was 20.7%, 18% and 1.3% respectively, while lifetime and current anxiety disorder was found in 36% and 24% respectively. In addition, lifetime and current depressive disorder was found in 49.3% and 36% of mothers in the study group respectively. All the rates were considerably higher than what was found in the control group. Poor overall quality of life was reported by 8.7% of mothers in the study group, and 20% reported dissatisfaction with health. Mean scores for mothers in the study group on the physical, psychological, social and environmental domains of quality of life were 13.14(SD 2.91), 10.94(SD 2.72), 12.58 (SD 3.01) and 11.38 (SD 2.52) respectively. These scores were significantly lower than findings from the control group in all except the physical domain. Among the study group, mothers who were married had significantly higher mean scores in the psychological (p=0.003), social (p=0.003) and environmental (p=0.0200) quality of life domains. Mothers with higher education had higher mean scores in the psychological (p=0.024) and environmental (p=0.005) domains. Unemployed mothers had higher mean scores in the physical (0.025), psychological (p=0.011) and environmental (p=0.005) domains. Mothers who screened positive for anxiety or depressive disorder had lower mean scores in all domains of quality of life (p<0.001). Poor overall quality of life was also significantly associated with greater seizure frequency (p = 0.035), while poor satisfaction with health was significantly associated with poor perception of seizure control (p=0.013). CONCLUSIONS The study reveals high rates of anxiety and depressive disorder among mothers of children with epilepsy, rates which were significantly higher than for the control group. Lower scores on quality of life were recorded among the mothers with ill children. Significant differences in quality of life domains were found among mothers with anxiety and depressive disorder. Lower quality of life was also significantly associated with greater seizure frequency and poor perception of seizure control.