<p>Both parental psychological control (PPC) and state self-compassion have been demonstrated to be associated with depression. However, there remains a need to illuminate the possible direct and indirect pathways among them from a developmental perspective that could serve as intervention targets. Therefore, this study investigated the direct and indirect associations among developmental trajectories of PPC, state self-compassion, and depression in adolescents. A total of 1660 Chinese middle school students (51.93% boys; <i>M</i>_<i>age</i> = 13.51; <i>SD</i> = 0.83) completed self-report measures on 3 time points across 1 years. Latent growth curve modeling was used to examine the direct and indirect associations among the developmental trajectories of the study variables. Results revealed that the developmental trajectory of PPC was positively and directly related to the developmental trajectory of depression, while the developmental trajectory of state self-compassion was negatively and directly related to the developmental trajectory of depression; and the developmental trajectory of PPC was indirectly related to the developmental trajectory of depression via the mediating effect of state self-compassion. The findings elucidated the direct and indirect longitudinal associations among PPC, state self-compassion, and depression, highlighting that interventions aimed at fostering state self-compassion may benefit to prevent the developmental progression from PPC to depression in adolescents.</p>