Achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality targets necessitates a holistic green transformation of both the economy and society, presenting a formidable challenge for resource-dependent cities with high energy needs. Liaoning Province, China was the first to pilot the economic transformation of resource-based cities, exploring the relationship between urban resilience and carbon emissions, which holds crucial implications for steering resource-based cities towards models of decarbonized development and innovative energy systems. This article establishes a comprehensive indicator system, encompassing five key dimensions: economy, society, resources, ecology, and technological innovation. It constructs an urban resilience evaluation model using combined weighting and improved TOPSIS and a resilience obstacle degree model. To evaluate the spatiotemporal resilience shifts in Liaoning’s resource-based cities and their correlation with carbon emissions. The findings reveal: (1) A fundamental alignment between the resilience of resource-based cities and the dual carbon goals, particularly noticeable in sectors or cities with lower energy reliance. A negative correlation exists between carbon dioxide emissions and urban resilience. (2) In industries highly dependent on fossil fuels, carbon dioxide emissions, and urban resilience tend to increase together. However, a development strategy that compromises ecological resilience is unsustainable. The degree of energy dependence critically influences this trend. (3) Examining the spatiotemporal changes in urban resilience, the disparity among cities is diminishing, with notable resilience fluctuations aligning closely with carbon emission levels. Technological innovation and economic dimensions emerge as the primary hurdles to enhancing the resilience of Liaoning’s resource-based cities.