Depression is threatening the large population of worldwide patients severely. The current situation is that therapies available so far are less effective, which imposes an urgent call for better therapeutic solutions for fighting against depression. Our study not only thoroughly reviewed the past and the latest facts relevant to depression and antidepressants, but also shed light on the future of antidepressants development. In more detail, by mining the data in IMS databases, we were able to perform statistical analysis to reveal the up-to-date facts of the marketed antidepressants. We also followed up the latest projects and the progress in R&D of antidepressants in order to identify the current trends of antidepressants R&D. Subsequently, we employed the network modelling to identify the antidepressants’ R&D technology flow and community. Last but not the least, we offered insightful discussion covering depression and its relevant facts as well as the latest R&D circumstances in China specifically, hoping that our study will inspire researchers and policymakers for the development of the better next generation antidepressants.