Purpose: This descriptive research was done to identify the predictors influencing depression in community dwelling older adults. Method: The participants were 355 elders aged or over 65 and the data were collected using structured questionnaires which included general characteristics, hand strength, experience of falling, perceived health status and depression. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression using enter method with the SPSS Statistics 18.0 for Windows program. Results: Mean age of the participants was 74.82±6.09 and the majority were women (65.9%). Mean scores for hand strength were 29.76±5.71 kg for men, 18.55±4.06 kg for women, for perceived health status, 2.97±1.02 and for depression, 3.94±3.80. Percentage of falls over the past year was 31.5%. Gender(β=-.32, p<.001), perceived health status(β=.29, p<.001), level of education(β=.19, p=.001), hand strength(β=-.19, p=.022), experience of falling(β=.18, p<.001), and marital status(β=-.17, p=.001) were factors influencing depression in community dwelling older adults. Together they explained 26.8% of the variance. Conclusion: Findings of this study suggest that integrated interventions to prevent depression in community dwelling elders are need.