The real part of the nucleus-nucleus potential is calculated by using a density-dependent effective interaction where the local density takes into account the contribution of both the projectile and the target densities. The results indicate that the repulsion produced by the density-dependent part of the interaction is important when the densities of the two nuclei overlap significantly but not so important at a distance much greater than the touching radius. For a quite heavy target-projectile system the repulsive term is important even in the tail region. The exchange effects have been found to be be not so important. The imaginary potential is approximately estimated by using a forward scattering amplitude approximation. The preliminary results agree with phenomenological predictions. The parameter ${\mathcal{r}}_{C}$ which determines the critical distance of approach both for the real and the imaginary potential, remains constant [${\mathcal{r}}_{C0}\ensuremath{\simeq}1.0=\frac{{R}_{C0}}{({{A}_{P}}^{\frac{1}{3}}+{{A}_{T}}^{\frac{1}{3}})}$] throughout the Periodic Table.NUCLEAR REACTIONS Calculated optical potential for two colliding nuclei using a density-dependent effective interaction and the forward scattering amplitude approximation for the imaginary potential.