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                                                                     EXHIBIT 23


                   REPORT AND CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

         We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Annual Report
(Form 10-K) of Rock-Tenn Company of our report dated October 21, 1997, included
in the 1997 Annual Report to Shareholders of Rock-Tenn Company.

         Our audits also included the financial statement schedule of Rock-Tenn
Company listed in Item 14(a). This schedule is the responsibility of the
Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion based on our
audits. In our opinion, the financial statement schedule referred to above, when
considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole,
presents fairly in all material respects the information set forth therein.

         We also consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration
Statement (Form S-8 No. 33-83304) pertaining to the Rock-Tenn Company 1993
Employee Stock Option Plan, the Rock-Tenn Company 1993 Employee Stock Purchase
Plan, the Rock-Tenn Company Incentive Stock Option Plan, the Rock-Tenn Company
1989 Stock Option Plan, and the Rock-Tenn Company 1987 Stock Option Plan, and
the Registration Statement (Form S-3 No. 33-93934) of Rock-Tenn Company of our
report dated October 21, 1997, with respect to the consolidated financial
statements incorporated herein by reference, and our report included in the
preceding paragraph with respect to the financial statement schedule included in
this Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended September 30, 1997, and our
report dated November 13, 1997, with respect to the financial statements of the
Rock-Tenn Company 1993 Employee Stock Purchase Plan filed as an Exhibit to this
Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended September 30, 1997.



                                         Ernst & Young LLP

Atlanta, Georgia
December 12, 1997