In this paper, community capacity building (CCB) is seen as part of a long-standing health promotion tradition involving community action in health promotion. The conceptual context of the term CCB is presented, and compared with other community approaches. The usage of the term is variable. It is submitted that its common features are (i) the concepts of capacity and empowerment (versus disease and deficiency), (ii) bottom-up, community-determined agendas and actions and (iii) processes for developing competence. A brief literature review looks at some of the main contributions from the 1990 s on, which reveal an emphasis on building competencies, the measurement of community capacity and the attempt to break CCB down into operational components. Academic research on the impact of CCB on health is lacking, but multiple case studies documented in the 'grey literature' suggest CCB is highly effective, as does research in related areas, such as community empowerment. Five contemporary case studies submitted by the contributing authors show both the range and efficacy of CCB applications. The concluding synthesis and recommendations say that what is needed for health promotion in a globalized world is a balance between global macro (policy, regulatory, etc.) actions and those of the human and local scale represented by CCB. It is concluded that action centred on empowered and capable communities, in synergistic collaboration with other key players, may be the most powerful instrument available for the future of health promotion in a globalized world.