Purpose : This study was conducted to investigate the effects of a nursing intervention program on levels of cognitive function, depression, and social behavior in elderly people with mild dementia. Methods : The participants in this study were 18 senior residents who had scores ranging from 15 to 23 on the MMSE-K. were 60 years of age or older and living in the city of G, Korea. The length of time for the intervention and data collection was from July 4 to August 29, 2002. The dementia nursing intervention program consisted of hand exercise to enhance brain function, music therapy, art therapy, and cognitive therapy. The program was administered twice a week for 90 minutes per session for eight weeks. Measurement tools were the MMSE-K developed by Kwon & Park (1989), Korean version of the SODS standardized by Bae (1996), and the social behavior measurement tool developed by Dastoor (1975). The data were analysed by frequency, percentage, mean, SD, and Wilcoxon signed ranks test using SPSS/PC+. Results : Cognitive function (z=-3.421, p= .001) in elderly people with dementia improved significantly after receiving the nursing intervention program. After being in the program, elderly people in the intervention group were significantly less depressed than before the intervention (z=-2.584, p= .010). But there was no significant difference between scores before and after the program for social behavior (z=-1.613, p= .107). Also orientation (z=-2.448, p= .014), function of language (z=-2.257, p= .024), and understanding and judgement (z=-3.317, p=.001) in the elders with dementia were significantly improved after receiving the nursing intervention program. Conclusions : These findings confirmed that the nursing intervention program for dementia made a contribution towards improving cognitive function and to reducing depression in the elderly people with mild dementia. Therefore, it is recommended that this program be used in clinical practice as an effective nursing intervention for elderly people with mild dementia.