Depression is one of the common mental disorders in clinic, which belongs to the category of emotional disorders in traditional Chinese medicine. Because of its unclear etiology and unknown pathogenesis, it has been a difficult problem in the field of neuroscience. Modern medicine divides primary depression into primary depression and retarded depression according to its clinical manifestations. This paper analyses the clinical manifestations of retarded depression and elaborates the relationship between its pathogenesis and five zang viscera deficiency. It is suggested that tonifying Qi and blood and regulating the function of viscera should be the main therapeutic principles in the treatment of retarded depression by traditional Chinese medicine.