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Objective To explore the causal relationship between family resilience and mental health in military personnel population. Methods A total of 204 military personnel were recruited from an army unit stationed in Western China with cluster convenience sampling. Family Resilience Scale (FRS) and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) were used to survey them twice, in an interval of 4 months. Amos 26.0 was applied to construct a cross-lag model and analyze the data. Results After controlling mental symptoms from the first survey, family resilience in the first measure significantly predicted mental symptoms in the second measure (β=-0.14, P < 0.05). After controlling for family resilience from the first survey, mental symptoms in the first measure significantly predicted family resilience in the second measure (β=-0.13, P < 0.05). Conclusion The relationship between family resilience and mental health is mutually causal in military personnel, and one predicts the other one. Our findings highlight the key dimensions of the relationship between the two.