According to the World Health Organization, there are 350 million people worldwide suffering from some depressive disorder throughout their lives. It is important, therefore, to establish whether the knowledge and beliefs that general practitioners possess about this disorder can be a barrier, so that patients can access a timely diagnosis and treatment. A descriptive study was carried out with 73 general practitioners of the outpatient primary care service in two public hospitals in Bogota, DC, who were given a self-administered questionnaire to measure knowledge and beliefs about depressive disorder. As a result, this research shows that 50% of general practitioners were able to identify the main symptoms of a depressive disorder, 82% of the symptoms that are not associated with the disorder, 54% were equally clear about the adverse effects of antidepressants, 47% of the physicians were clear about the indications for in-hospital management, 72.9% agreed that the depressive disorder was not part of aging and 66% considered it to be not part of the personality. Finally, it is evident that one out of every two physicians was able to identify the cases of patients with depressive symptoms, in addition, there were limitations in relation to the beliefs, since there were differences in the pharmacological treatment, which limits its detection and management in the first Level of attention.