Ki-Adi-Mundi embarked on the Jedi's path when he was four years old. Although few children are allowed into the Jedi Temple beyond the age of about six months, a mysterious Jedi Master known only as the "Dark Woman" had heard of Ki-Adi-Mundi's powerful ability to manipulate objects with his mind. She arrived at Ki's homestead on Cerea and asked for permission to take the child with her to Coruscant, but Ki's father was reluctant to part with his only son.
During the Dark Woman's visit, Ki's family was tormented by a band of raiders under the leadership of Bin-Garda-Zon. Ki's father hid his son, for fear that the bandit lord would kidnap the boy, as male children are scarce on Cerea. However, while hidden, Ki did see Bin-Garda-Zon strike his father. The terrible and frightening image burned in Ki's memory for many years.
Bin-Garda-Zon and the raiders eventually left, and Ki's father realized that the Cereans needed their own Jedi to protect them from threats such as the bandits. Thus, he finally agreed to send Ki with the Dark Woman.
The Jedi Council decided that Ki-Adi-Mundi would be trained, but his teacher would be Jedi Master Yoda, and not the Dark Woman. After twenty-one years, Ki-Adi-Mundi, now a Jedi Knight, returned to Cerea to rid the planet of the bandits. He sought out Bin-Garda-Zon's camp, only to discover that the legendary bandit leader had been deposed by a female warrior. Bin-Garda-Zon remained part of the band as an emaciated laborer serving slop to the raiders' oorgs.
Ki nevertheless faced the new chief, but he underestimated his opponent and was captured. He eventually escaped using the Force and battled the new chief again, this time defeating her. But his adventure was not yet over. Bin-Garda-Zon made a pitiful attempt to kill Ki, in the hopes of reclaiming his position of leadership. Ki vanquished Bin, but spared his life.
Over the next tree decades, Ki-Adi-Mundi built a life for himself on Cerea while serving the Jedi Order faithfully. He married his bond wife, Shea, and took four honor wives. He also fathered seven daughters and became a respected member of the Ceran community.
At age sixty, Ki-Adi-Mundi found himself defending idyllic Cerea from the Pro-Tech Movement led by a human named Bron. Bron and his followers advocated the introduction of new technology to Cerea, which Ki-Adi-Mundi and other older Cereans opposed. One of Ki's daughters, Sylvn, became involved in the movement. This led to her being kidnapped by a criminal named Ephant Mon, who fled Cerea for Tatooine. Ki-Adi-Mundi tracked Ephant Mon to Jabba the Hutt's lair on the desert world, where he rescued his daughter. He also learned that the Trade Federation was purchasing weapons to arm their starships.
Immediately following his adventures on Tatooine, Ki-Adi-Mundi was invited to join the Jedi Council, an appointment he accepted. He was present when the council tested Anakin Skywalker and did not hesitate to voice his own opinions about the boy, the threat of the Sith and Qui-Gon's mission.
A short time after the Trade Federation's defeat, the Jedi Coucil sent Ki-Adi-Mundi to Tatooine in search of a Jedi Master named Sharad Hett, who had vanished years before. He discovered Hett living amoung the Tusken Raiders, but his mission was complicated by the arrival of the bounty hunter Aurra Sing. A failed Jedi apprentice who once trained under the same woman who discovered Ki, Sing now revels in killing all Jedi. Although Ki-Adi-Mundi attemped to protect Hett, he could not prevent the bounty hunter from slaying the reclusive Jedi Master. As Hett died, Ki vowed to take Hett's son, A'Sharad, as his Padawan.
Ki-Adi-Mundi's Jedi abilities include powerful thought and emotion control, which he can extend over great distances, even altering the thoughts of beings on nearby starships. He can also summon his personal aryx, a large bird with a sharp beak and dangerous claws used as a mount by Cereans.