Mental practice (MP) is a form of exercise which has been in existence since 1890, but has only become widespread in sport in the last 22 years. To carry out this review, the four stages identified in the PRISMA statement (identification, selection, eligibility, inclusion) were followed. A search was performed on the databases ERIC, SPORTDiscus, Academic Search Complete and PubMed using<\/em> the keywords \u201cmental practice and sport\u201d, \u201ckinaesthetic practice and sport\u201d, \u201cmental training and sport\u201d, \u201cmental preparation and sport\u201d, \u201cmotor imagery and sport\u201d and \u201cvisual practice and sport\u201d. Some articles were using Spanish keywords; \u201cpr\u00e1ctica mental y deporte\u201d, \u201cpr\u00e1ctica kinest\u00e9sica y deporte\u201d, \u201centrenamiento mental y deporte\u201d, \u201cpreparaci\u00f3n mental y deporte\u201d, \u201cimaginer\u00eda motora y deporte\u201d and \u201cpr\u00e1ctica visual y deporte\u201d . With these searches, a total of 11 390 articles were obtained, which included 59 studies. The exclusion criteria were populations with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, dementia or some type of cancer; not including MP as an independent variable; and combining MP with some kind of incentive. The results found that MP is a good tool for improving pre-competitive anxiety, self-confidence, concentration and motivation. It can also be used for sports rehabilitation and strength development, and a combination of MP and real movements to attain more positive results.<\/p>\n\n