This study aimed to clarify the causal relationship between meaning in life and depression symptoms, and to explore the evolutionary patterns of meaning in life, and assess its impact on the incidence of depressive symptoms. A two-wave longitudinal study with a 12-month interval was conducted among 896 university students recruited from one university. The Meaning in Life Questionnaire and the Depression Symptom Screening Questionnaire were administered. The findings showed that: 1) Meaning in life at T1 negatively predicted depression symptoms at T2. Conversely, depression symptoms at T1 did not significantly predict meaning in life at T2. 2) The evolutionary patterns of meaning in life from T1 to T2 could be categorized into four groups: sustained low meaning, meaning improvement, meaning reduction, and sustained high meaning. The incidence of depressive symptoms in these four groups was 13.00%, 5.00%, 12.00%, and 4.00%, respectively. 3) The evolutionary patterns of meaning in life significantly impacted the incidence of depressive symptoms. Compared to the sustained high meaning group, both the sustained low meaning group and the meaning reduction group exhibited significantly higher rates of depression symptoms. The results suggest that psychological health education in universities should focus on individuals with sustained low meaning or meaning reduction, and that enhancing meaning in life serves as an effective intervention approach to reducing the incidence of depression symptoms among university students.