The article considers the mental health and emotional well-being of a physical education teacher as a prerequisite for successful self-realization in professional activity. The emotional well-being of a physical education teacher is manifested in the experience of content-richness and value of life, achievement of personally-meaningful and socially-oriented goals, which is an essential condition for realization of opportunities and personal growth. The article’s purpose of the work is to identify the leading elements of successful self-realization of future teachers of physical culture. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that the importance of mental health for the successful self-realization of future physical education teachers is first highlighted. Self-realization of the personality manifests itself in the desire for the fullest possible identification and development of one’s capabilities in order to fulfill the professional duties as high as possible. Conclusions the professional activity of future teachers of physical education depends largely on emotional well-being and maintaining the internal balance, which is determined by the harmony of the organization of the psyche and its adaptive capabilities. The degree of expressiveness of mental equilibrium depends on the ability of the individual to self-realization. Successful self-realization of future teachers of physical culture manifests in satisfaction with the profession, that is, a positive attitude to the chosen activity, awareness of external and internal factors that contribute to the full self-realization of the individual in this activity on the basis of knowledge and ideas about the essence of self-realization, its role and value, productivity of self-realization, that is, possession of the necessary knowledge, skills and experience, orientation in the content and forms of educational activity, improvement taking into account personal meaning; the price of self-realization, that is, the state of health and psychophysical potential of the individual.