Objectives: To examine (1) the frequency of hospitalizations and outpatient visits for depression in spinal cord injury (SCI) and disorders (SCD) and (2) the association between patient characteristics and the receipt of a depression diagnosis. Design: Retrospective study of administrative data. Setting: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities, October 1, 1998 to September 30, 2001 (fiscal year 1999–2001). Participants: Subjects were selected from a cumulative VA registry based on International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition codes for SCI and SCD. All subjects in the registry with any VA utilization during the study time period were included. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Frequency of hospitalizations and visits with a depression diagnosis; and frequency of other diagnoses with depression. Results: Approximately 20% (n=4177) of the veterans with SCI and SCD had at least 1 encounter with a depression diagnosis; 8% (n=1727) had at least 1 hospitalization; and 16% (n=3299) had at least 1 outpatient encounter. In the regression analysis, being younger (OR=1.98), female (OR=0.49), white (OR=1.36), having chronic renal disease (OR=1.00), chronic pulmonary disease (OR=1.60), coronary artery disease (OR=1.57), diabetes (OR=1.40), or a hospitalization for a skin (OR=1.10) or kidney problem (OR=1.24), or drug use (OR=7.18) significantly increased the odds of having a depression diagnosis. Conclusions: Demographic characteristics, including age, gender, and race, and health status characteristics such as the presence of chronic diseases, were associated with the likelihood of receipt of a depression diagnosis. These findings could result from differences in depression prevalence between groups and/or could occur because some groups are more likely to be screened. This study is the basis for additional work to examine outcomes of antidepressant use in the VA population with SCI and SCD.