Soft X-ray diagnostic systems and their successful application in the field of magnetic fusion plasma physics are discussed. Radiation with wavelength in the region of Soft X-Ray (1-30 keV) is largely produced by high temperature plasmas, carrying important information on many processes during a plasma discharge. Soft X-ray diagnostics are largely used in various fusion devices all over the world. These diagnostic systems are able to obtain information on electron temperature, electron density, impurity transport, Magneto Hydro Dynamic instabilities. We will discuss the SXR diagnostic installed on FTU in Frascati (Italy) and on Tore Supra in Cadarache (France), with special emphasis on diagnostic performances. Moreover, we will discuss the two different inversion methods for tomographic reconstruction used in Frascati and in Cadarache, the first one is relied on a guessed topology of iso-emissivity surfaces, the second one on regularization techniques, like minimum Fisher or maximum entropy. Finally, a new and very fast 2D imaging system with energy discrimination and high time resolution will be summarized as an alternative approach of SXR detection system.