Hormonal contraception is an efficient method of preventing unwanted pregnancy. Besides this, hormonal contraception provides numerous noncontraceptive benefits as well as the possibility of individualised therapy which is crucial in treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome and other such conditions. The subject of mental health is becoming more and more of an important topic in today's comprehensive and increasingly individualized health care. Therefore it is important to study the effects of hormonal contraception on mental health of a growing proportion of reproductive age women who use this method. This thesis aimed to sum up the current research on the effects of oral hormonal contraception, the intrauterine device, depot formulations and the vaginal ring on mental health. Among the available literature there are a few comprehensive review papers which provide a good representation of the current knowledge on this topic. Their authors' overall conclusions are that the doses of hormones found in modern formulations of hormonal contraceptives do not have a very big positive or negative impact on mental health in their users. However, there is a small proportion of users on whom hormonal contraception can have a stronger impact, which is sometimes negative, while it is positive in some conditions like premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder, where they can relieve symptoms. These groups that are more susceptible to changes in mental health due to the use of hormonal contraception are not to be dismissed even though they may represent a small proportion of users. Numerous studies presented in this paper emphasize the need for further research, so clinicians could better identify, predict and treat negative effects of hormonal contraception if and when they present.