The problem of delay-dependent stability and passivity for linear neutral systems is discussed. By constructing a novel type Lyapunov-krasovskii functional, a new delay-dependent passivity criterion is presented in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Model transformation, bounding for cross terms and selecting free weighting matrices [12～14] are not required in the arguments. Numerical examples show that the proposed criteria are available and less conservative than existing results.