Social and health organizations are becoming more complex and foster mobilization and partnership between professionals and individuals. Individuals need to be self-reliant and engaged in prevention, care and health promotion, which requires skills related to health literacy (HL). Such skills help to improve interactions between healthcare actors and people which facilitates the engagement of professionals and people. This promotes consideration of people’s wishes, leading to greater equity in care. While the physical health professions have been interested in HL for several years, the social work profession has been slow to do so. Based on an exploratory literature review, our article examines the uses and advantages of the HL concept in social work with people, professionals and organizations, demonstrating the fundamental links between the concept of HL and social work.