About 30 years ago, a neurodevelopmental model of mental disorders was proposed. It has now been widely accepted and developed. This model suggests that abnormalities in brain development during pre- and perinatal life lead to psychotic manifestation in adolescence or young adulthood. Evidence points to the negative role of hypoxia in early life, but the role of hypoxia in some risk factors is not clear. The use of hypoxia for the treatment and prevention is also still poorly covered in the literature. The aim of this review is to integrate current knowledge about the role of hypoxia in the mental disorders neurodevelopment, in their treatment and prevention, and in increasing mental capacity. Data are cited about the important role of hypoxia in almost any risk factor: pre-eclampsia, infection/inflammation, hypoxia/ischemia, preterm birth, asphyxia at birth, and in stimulation of neurogenesis. The changes in the brain stimulated by excessive, pathologic neurogenesis may lead to abnormal communications in the neural network, causing abnormal associations, ideas, and acts, i.e. mental disorder. Data are provided about the use of hypoxic hypoxia for mental disorder therapy: high mountains, hypobaric chamber, and normobaric Interrupted Hypoxic Training. Using hypoxia showed positive results both in animal experiments and in the clinic. The surprising coincidence of the effects of some psychotropic medications and hypoxia suggests that the active principle of psychotropic medications may be hypoxia. Data are cited that corroborate the possible connection between genius and mental malfunctions. Animal model data show that the influence of a moderate, but not excessive, hypoxia results in a moderate increase in neurogenesis, leading to increased mental capacity.