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Olfactory dysfunction is manifested in a wide range of neurological and psychiatric diseases, and often emerges prior to the onset of more classical symptoms and signs. From a behavioral perspective, olfactory deficits typi-cally arise in conjunction with impairments of cognition, motivation, memory, and emotion. However, a con-ceptual framework for explaining the impact of olfactory processing on higher brain functions in health and disease remains lacking. Here we aim to provide circuit-level insights into this question by synthesizing recent advances in olfactory network connectivity with other cortical brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex. We will focus on social cognition as a representative model for exploring and critically evaluating the relationship between olfactory cortices and higher-order cortical regions in rodent models. Although rodents do not reca-pitulate all dimensions of human social cognition, they have experimentally accessible neural circuits and well -established behavioral tests for social motivation, memory/recognition, and hierarchy, which can be extrapo-lated to other species including humans. In particular, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been recognized as a key brain region in mediating social cognition in both rodents and humans. This review will highlight the underappreciated connectivity, both anatomical and functional, between the olfactory system and mPFC cir-cuitry, which together provide a neural substrate for olfactory modulation of social cognition and social be-haviors. We will provide future perspectives on the functional investigation of the olfactory-mPFC circuit in rodent models and discuss how to translate such animal research to human studies.