Abstract: To explore the relationship between short video usage and depressive symptoms among middle school students, as well as the roles of basic psychological need satisfaction and core self-evaluation, this study employed the Short Video Usage Intensity Scale, the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction Scale, the Core Self-Evaluation Scale, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale to measure 664 middle school students. The results showed: (1)Short video usage directly and positively predicts depressive symptoms in middle school students; (2)Both the individual mediating effects of basic psychological need satisfaction and core self-evaluation,and their serial mediating effects,were significant.The findings indicate that short video usage not only directly affects depressive symptoms in middle school students but also indirectly influences them through the individual mediating roles of basic psychological need satisfaction and core self-evaluation,as well as their chain mediating effects.