The objective of this study was to examine the cost-effectiveness of fluvoxamine compared to treatment with tricyclic antidepressants in patients who suffer depressive episodes. The setting for this study was France. A Markov process model was constructed to model the effectiveness, as measured by time without depression, and the costs of both treatments. The model examined a period of 18 months in order to capture the influence of both relapses and recurrences on the outcomes. Data for the construction of the model came from the published literature, an expert panel and a large multi-center randomised clinical trial. Costs were obtained from published sources. The results of the baseline analysis showed that the use of fluvoxamine in the maintenance treatment (recurrence prevention) of depressive disorders was less costly than TCAs with total costs (direct and indirect costs) of 40,232.40 FF vs 52,257.53 FF, respectively. In addition, due to the prevention of relapse and recurrence effectiveness favoured fluvoxamine as it was associated with a longer period of time without depression when compared to therapy with TCAs: 79% of the stude period compared to 71P% for TCAs. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings. In conclusion, based on the assumptions used in the model, the used of fluovoxamine as maintenance therapy is clinically and economically justified in patients with depressive disorders.