The advances in drug therapy of depression focused on the development of new drugs like venlafaxine that have a faster onset of ation and a higher efficacy. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety profile of venlafaxine XR in patients with mild to moderate depression. The study population consisted of 183 outpatints aged 18-65 years from 13 centers who met the criteria for mild to moderate depressive disorder. Patients were administered venlafaxine XR 75 mg once daily through days 1-56. The dose was increased to 150 mg from the second week for 25 patients. A response was defined as a decrease in the HAM-D total score of at least 50 % from baseline. The was a marked decrease from baseline (median, 26; range, 18 to 44) to day 56 (median, 4; range, 0-30). HAM-D score of only 6.6% of the patients that attend the second visit reduce 50 % while this ratio increased to 90.3 % in the fifth visit. All reductions were statistically significant (p<0.0001). Nausea, anorexia, headache, sweating and dry mouth were the most frequently observed adverse events during the treatments. 152 patients (83 %) completed the study. Our results indicate that venlafaxine XR seems to be a very efficious antidepressant drug in mild to moderate depressive outpatients.