Background: Conceptual clarification of salutogenesis (Antonovsky 1987) and resilience – what is common and different? Methods: A systematic research synthesis 1992–2010 based on about 1300 papers on Sense of Coherence. Findings: Similarities and differences emerge. Salutogenesis stems from stress research exploring why some people stay healthy despite major life events and adversities while resilience research refer to risk of negative health development. Both concepts emphasize resources: the salutogenic framework talks about Generalized Resistance Resources while resilience uses protective factors. The two concepts differ when it comes to the adjustment process where resilience concept always is connected with risk factors. Discussion: The new knowledge derived from the research synthesis on the SOC reveal promising results indicating the usefulness in health promotion research, expanding the knowledge from resilience research on risks to salutogenic research on resources. While salutogenesis has its focus on health promotion resilience is more connected to health protection.