OBJECTIVE: to examine perceptions of mothers experiencing postpartum depression utilising the revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R), to explore relationships between illness perceptions, depression severity and perceptions of maternal bonding, and to assess the psychometric properties within this population. DESIGN: longitudinal correlational design. SETTING: North West of England, UK. PARTICIPANTS: 43 mothers, who screened positive for postpartum depression (mean age 29.36 years) with babies whose mean age was 4 months. METHODS: participants were recruited through health services. Participants completed the IPQ-R and measures of depression severity and maternal bonding. Illness perceptions and depression severity were assessed at 2 time points, 4 weeks apart. FINDINGS: mothers endorsed IPQ-R subscales of cyclical timeline, consequences, emotional representations, treatment and personal control. IPQ-R subscale scores and depression severity correlated significantly at Time 1. Initial IPQ-R subscale scores, however, were not associated with and accounted for little variation in depression severity at Time 2. IPQ-R identity and consequence subscales positively correlated with perceived bonding difficulties. KEY CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: the IPQ-R was shown to be a reliable measure of illness perceptions in mothers experiencing postpartum depression. The maternal illness perceptions endorsed in this study have implications for clinical practice. Interventions aimed at developing a more coherent understanding of depression may enhance beliefs of personal control over symptoms, reduce the number of perceived symptoms and associated emotional distress. Educating mothers regarding the benefits of interventions may be important in increasing the number of mothers accessing support for postpartum depression.