Background <p>Prehabilitation is rehabilitation before surgery. This emerging discipline within the canon of perioperative patient optimization is increasingly being incorporated into treatment strategies for patients undergoing major surgical procedures. This narrative review primarily presents the evidence for nononcological patients.</p> Methods <p>Thie article gives a systematic review of the literature.</p> Results <p>The specific evidence for prehabilitation in nononcological visceral surgery is low. Most publications have examined mixed patient populations. Nevertheless, across the publications, patients benefit from prehabilitation measures and significantly fewer complications are observed. One group that particularly benefits are patients with pre-existing frailty.</p> Summary <p>Prehabilitation should be incorporated into the preparation for major surgery, regardless of whether for oncological or nononcological patients, especially considering that only 10% of all guideline recommendations are based on high-quality evidence.</p>