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Research on mental health in elite athletes is rapidly expanding. In the 6 years since the first International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) consensus statement on mental health in elite athletes was published in 2019,1 the number of peer-reviewed publications on this topic has more than tripled compared with the total from the preceding 50 years (PubMed database response to keywords “mental health” and [“athlete” or “sport”]; 2020–2025: n=5766 publications; 2019 and earlier: n=1764 publications). Growing interest in mental health in the elite sport ecosystem may be fuelling research collaborations that are leading to this surge in publications. This increased interest has also been reflected in increased athlete advocacy about the importance of talking openly about mental health,2 an appreciation that mental health is closely connected with athletic performance3 and more sport organisations actively taking steps towards systems-level support for athlete mental health.4 As these efforts continue, a research agenda informed by elite athletes and global leaders in mental health research and clinical practice can help ensure that high-priority areas are addressed. In conjunction with the second IOC consensus meeting on mental health in elite athletes in June 2025, we provide here such an agenda for research relevant to mental health within the elite athlete ecosystem.