BACKGROUND Depressive personality disorder (DPD) was introduced in DSM-IV as a new category requiring further study. The aim of this study was to estimate genetic and environmental contributions to DPD in a population-based twin sample, and include data on criteria performance, prevalence and diagnostic overlap. METHODS Axis I and Axis II diagnoses were obtained by structured interviews in a population-based sample of 2794 young adult twins. Statistical analyses included correlation and factor analysis based on polychoric correlation coefficients, and diagnostic overlap applying adjusted odds ratios. Contributions from additive genetic and common and unique environmental influences to the liability to DPD were computed using structural equation modelling, applying a multiple threshold variable. RESULTS Liability to DPD could best be explained by additive genetic and unique environmental factors, with heritability estimates of 49% (95% CI 0.41-0.57) in females and 25% (95% CI 0.12-0.40) in males. The best-fitting model indicated that some of the genes contributing to DPD differ between men and women. Chronbach's alpha was 0.87. 2.0% of participants fulfilled the criteria for DPD, and overlap was most pronounced for dysthymic disorder and avoidant personality disorder. CONCLUSIONS Low prevalence rates and subsequent inclusion of subthreshold criteria could have influenced parameter estimates, especially in males. CONCLUSIONS DPD was almost twice as heritable in females as in males, comparable to previous studies on major depression. The proposed criteria showed good measurement properties, and DPD was not completely subsumed within any other disorder.