PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate symptoms of depression and anxiety in the patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). METHODS: 76 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma participated in this program. All patients were rated with the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and the self-rating depression scale (SDS). The mean scores of SAS and SDS were compared to those scores of the Norm of Chinese people. In addition, the different treatment results of the patients with different levels of anxiety and depression were studied. Further, the number of patients of SAS, SDS with more than 50 score were compared between primary cancer patients and recurrent cancer patients. RESULTS: The scores of SAS, SDS and the number of patients with more than 50 score in the patients group were obviously higher than those in Chinese Norm (P＜0.01).The levels of anxiety and depression in 32 patients with recurrent cancer were more severe than those of 44 patients with primary cancer. The patients with anxiety and/or depression showed poor prognosis. CONCLUSION: Anxiety and depression are common symptoms in patients with OSCC and have negative effects on the prognosis, thus the psychological intervention for the patients must be carried out.