In the current systematic review and meta-analyses, we aimed to synthesise the relationships between psychological motives and conspiracy beliefs. We focused on epistemic concerns for understanding and knowledge (k = 114, Nobv = 361; Nparticipants = 48,697), existential threats to security (k = 121, Nobv = 414; Nparticipants = 51,517.30), and social needs to defend the self- and group image (k = 100, Nobv = 201; Nparticipants = 34,241.30). Results indicated that conspiracy beliefs are related to epistemic concerns, demonstrated through a reliance on automatic thinking styles and compensation for experiences of epistemic uncertainty. Furthermore, we showed that low cognitive abilities, existential threats (both ongoing personal distress and perceived threats from the world around us), and social needs to maintain interpersonal bonds and defend the self- and group image can explain the formation of conspiracy beliefs. Among other findings, moderation analyses revealed that defensive ingroup identity is only linked to conspiracy measures that capture belief in specific conspiracy theories, but not more general measures of conspiracy mentality. Our findings support the notion that conspiracy beliefs appeal to certain psychological motives. We discuss limitations and avenues for future research. We also discuss the implications of the current findings for efforts to extend theoretical considerations in the literature, pinpointing particularly influential variables and providing recommendations on which to base interventions that reduce susceptibility to conspiracy beliefs.