Mild behavioral impairment (MBI) is a kind of pre-dementia syndrome, which presents abnormalities in perception, thinking, emotion, behavior, personality and other aspects. At the same time, the occurrence of MBI increases the risk of dementia. Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) refers to the mental and behavioral problems of patients during the course of dementia. Meanwhile, suffering this disease will increase the care burden of caregivers and the death rate of patients. MBI and BPSD constitute the neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) associated with dementia. As a new term and new concept, MBI can offer a new perspective to the clinical treatment and research of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, which has aroused wide attention. This paper reviews the literature related to MBI and NPS, comprehensively analyzes the clinical manifestations of MBI and its relationship with the neurobiology of cognitive impairment, and proposes that MBI should be translated as pre-dementia psychosocial behavior impairment.