Teaching is the occupation that, on a global level, presents the second highest number of occupational diseases. The aim of this study was to characterize the epidemiological profile of mental health problems in teachers at national and international levels. We searched the Scopus, Web of Science, PsycNet, PubMed, and bvs portals for publications from the last 10 years (2008-2017) in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. We included original empirical studies in which mental health complaints were approached as dependent variables in research with teachers, comprising 28 articles. The results indicate that work overload is a psychosocial risk factor and that the teachers who are vulnerable to illness are female, single, with high levels of formal education and a family history of mental disorders.