This study is concentrated on the concept of health promotion through the consideration and the review of articles and books concerning the theory and practice of health promotion. The study results are as follows: Firstly, the early definitions of health promotion are behavior-oriented concepts in general. Secondly, the concepts of health promotion generally regard environmental factors as of great importance. Thirdly, the concepts of health promotion attach great importance to the aspect of policy. Fourthly, health promotion programs usually need the support from the study results of social epidemiology. Fifthly, some distinguished academic fields have been fused into an integrated field under the concept of health promotion. Sixthly, the two key concepts of health promotion are behavior and environment. This study concludes that health promotion can be defined as "the optimal combination of educational, medical and policy resources to maximize the health potential of people most efficiently or effectively through the change of their behavioral and environmental factors at the level of individual, organization or society."ety."quot;