Each year a report is prepared for the World Economic Forum on global risks. It outlines the issues most likely to impact on society, and makes recommendations on actions required. The 2010 report concludes that global risks are becoming more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous; and it comments on the increased number of high-impact, hard to predict ‘black swan’ events over the past decade. Indeed, recent disasters such as the Haiti earthquake which killed over 250,000 people, the eruption of Mount Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, the rapid onset of the 2008/09 global financial crisis, and terrorist attacks around the world have all contributed to a heightened awareness of personal risk and vulnerability. In less than a decade the term resilience has evolved from the disciplines of materials science and environmental studies to become a concept used enthusiastically by policy makers, practitioners and academics. The concept is attractive as it suggests an ability of something or someone to cope in the face of adversity – to recover and return to normality after confronting an abnormal, alarming and often unexpected threat. It is used alongside security to understand how governments, local authorities, the emergency services and health agencies can best address the threats from natural disasters, health pandemics, malicious attacks on a country's critical infrastructure, and other major disruptive events. The paper discusses the meaning and utility of the concept of resilience. It traces the origins of the term through to its current use in addressing contemporary threats facing individuals, communities, organisations and nations. It identifies and describes a number of characteristics which are common to the concept of resilience in its many contexts and manifestations. In conclusion, the paper supports a review of the language and thinking of emergency and disaster management, and promotes the emerging concept of disaster resilience.