Background <p>Mental health literacy (MHL), defined as an individual’s knowledge, beliefs, and resources related to mental health disorders, is crucial for mental health. However, there is a lack of research evidence on young soldiers’ levels of MHL. To address this gap, this study aimed to explore MHL profiles and associated factors among young Chinese male soldiers.</p> Methods <p>A cross-sectional study with 1,561 young Chinese male soldiers was conducted from April to December 2024. The participants were surveyed using the Multicomponent Mental Health Literacy Measure, Perceived Stress Scale, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, and Self-Rating Depression Scale. Latent profile analysis, chi-square tests, multiple logistic regression, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the Student-Newman-Keuls (SNK) test were conducted.</p> Results <p>Latent profile analysis revealed three profiles characterized by high (<i>n</i> = 870, 55.73%), medium (<i>n</i> = 405, 25.95%), and low (<i>n</i> = 286, 18.32%) levels of MHL. The factors found to influence all HML profiles were age 18–23 years, less than 2 years of military service, and engagement in active psychological learning (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05). Recent exposure to stressful life events influenced the high and medium MHL profiles (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05). The low MHL profile had the highest risk of mental health problems, whereas the high MHL profile had the lowest risk (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.001).</p> Conclusions <p>Three latent MHL profiles were identified among young Chinese male soldiers. To promote soldiers’ mental health, specific interventions should be developed to target the specific characteristics of each profile.</p> Clinical trial number <p>Not applicable.</p>