Objective To determine the efficacy of comprehensive geriatric assessment combined with psychiatric consultation on the recognition of mood disorders in general hospitals. Methods Elderly inpatients (over 65 years old) admitted to a geriatrics ward in a class AAA general hospital from August 2011 to March 2013 were assessed with comprehensive geriatric assessment [Zung’s Self-rated Depression Scale (SDS) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) -15) at admission. Geriatric interdisciplinary team services and psychiatric consultation were offered when it was necessary. Mood disorders were diagnosed by a psychiatrist according to International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) criteria. Results Two hundreds and eighty-one patients over 65 years were enrolled during the study. They were 136 males and 145 females, with a mean age of (75.2±6.8) years. Forty-nine out of them were identified with mood disorders (the point prevalence of mood disorders was 17.4%), including 16 males and 33 females, with a mean age of (73.5±6.0) years. Among these 49 patients, 39 were depressive episodes, 5 dysthymic disorders, 2 bipolar disorders, 2 recurrent depressive disorders, and 1 depression disorder not otherwise specified (NOS). For these patients, the primary reasons asking for psychiatric consultation were relevant illness history in 7 patients, abnormal emotion recognized by the doctors in 23 patients, sleep problems in 2 patients, medical unexplained symptoms in 5 patients, and positive results in depression screening scales in 12 patients. Conclusion Mood disorders are very common mental disease in the elderly inpatients. Combining comprehensive geriatric assessment and psychiatric consultation is very efficient in the recognition of mood disorders in the elderly, which is a service model worthy of being popularization in more general hospital settings for geriatric psychological medicine.