Background: leptin and adiponectin, having neurotrophic and immunomodulatory properties, are considered as potential links between metabolic disorders and mood disorders. However, data on their levels in depression remain contradictory. The aim was to study the relationship of leptin and adiponectin levels with the clinical characteristics of recurrent and bipolar depression. Patients, Participants and Methods: in a cross-sectional study conducted on the basis of the St. Petersburg State Medical Institution P.P. Kashchenko Hospital. St. Petersburg, 50 patients with a depressive episode (DE) with mood disorders and 35 participants without mental disorders participated. The Montgomery-Asberg scale was used to assess depression. Serum levels of leptin and adiponectin were determined by enzyme immunoassay. Results: patients with mood disorders with current DE did not differ from healthy controls in terms of leptin level, but had significantly lower level of adiponectin. In direct comparison, patients with current DE with bipolar and recurrent depression did not differ in hormone levels. Women with current DE had higher levels of leptin and adiponectin compared to men. In the healthy control group, there were no significant differences between men and women in hormone levels. Leptin levels in patients and healthy controls were positively associated with body mass index. Hormone levels were not associated with the age of onset of the disorder, the severity of depression, the duration of the disease and the current DE. Conclusions: a decrease of adiponectin level was revealed in patients with current DE in mood disorders, while the level of leptin remained unchanged. The observed effects were independent of the nosology and clinical characteristics of depression, but were modulated by the patient's gender. It is necessary to take into account gender characteristics when studying the relationship between mood disorders and metabolic disorders.