In this talk we review the important role played by chiral SU(3) symmetry in hadron physics. Exciting new results on the formation of baryon resonances as implied by chiral coupled-channel dynamics are presented and discussed. The results are the consequence of progress made in formulating a consistent effective field theory for the meson-baryon scattering processes in the resonance region. Strangeness channels are found to play a decisive role in the formation of resonances. As a further application of chiral coupled-channel dynamics the properties of antikaons and hyperon resonances in cold nuclear matter are reviewed.

PACS numbers: 24.10.Eq, 24.10.Cn, 25.80.Nv, 11.80.Gw