Purpose: To study the effect of depression (high levels of depressive symptoms) on social engagement. Design and Methods: In 65 nursing homes in the Netherlands, 562 newly admitted residents were assessed at admission. Social engagement was measured with the MDS Index of Social Engagement. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to study the effect of depression, measured according to the MDS-depression rating scale and controlled for confounders, on social engagement. Results: Fifty-one percent of the newly admitted residents had a low level of social engagement; twenty seven percent were depressed (high levels of depressive symptoms). Residents with a depression were significantly more often found to have low social engagement (OR 3.3), and confounders did not influence the strength of this relationship. Low social engagement on admission is predicted by depression and low cognitive performance, and to a lesser extent by impairments in vision and ADL. Implications: Low social engagement is very common in newly admitted nursing home residents, and depression is an important independent risk factor.