In the last few decades, social entrepreneurs have tried to address the needs of the poor in Asia, especially where governments and markets have failed. In particular, social entrepreneurs in health stand out for their innovative and far-reaching work in disease prevention, treatment and enabling conditions for good health. There have been many captivating stories and cases, but no systematic studies that have assessed the models and contributions of social enterprises as a whole. We shall conduct a systematic review of health social enterprises to produce a taxonomy of models and identify factors associated with their success and effectiveness.