Background: Mental health disorders, such as depression, substance use disorders, suicide and self-harm, schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorders are prevalent, with the incidence high in young people aged 12–25 years. Internationally, biopsychosocial prevention and early intervention strategies for these mental disorders have been researched in young people and implemented in practice to various degrees. Given the enormous volume and breadth of this literature, there is a pressing need to summarise the extent and distribution of the research for each mental disorder to better inform clinical practice and to explore the gaps in evidence to direct further research. Objective: An emerging methodology termed ‘evidence mapping’ was employed to comprehensively summarize what is known about the evidence for available prevention and treatment strategies and expose gaps to inform a research agenda for each mental disorder. Methods: Three explicit questions were identified through consultation with experts working in the field of youth mental health. Based on these questions, search strategies for the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO, MEDLINE and EMBASE were devised and performed for each mental disorder. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined. Studies were screened according to these criteria and mapped according to predefined study characteristics, such as intervention types and illness stages. Results: Figures of included studies for each disorder will be presented at the Colloquium. Conclusion: The volume and distribution of the research body for each of the five mental disorders in the young vary significantly, with depression and schizophrenia probably better investigated compared to others. The majority of prevention strategies are psychosocial in nature across disorders. Compared to psychosocial interventions, biological treatments received more research for established substance use disorders, schizophrenia and bipolar disorders but not for suicide and self-harm. Both treatment strategies are well researched for established depression.