Abstract: The single event effects (SEE) is one of the major space environmental factors causing spacecraft anomalies. The anomalies triggered by spacecraft charging induced electrostatic discharge(SESD) and SEE have similar characteristics, but the influence mechanisms and the related countermeasures are not exactly the same, causing many confusions and troubles in spacecraft engineering. As a result, a large number of spacecraft anomalies that may be induced by the SESD are simply attributed to SEE, and the on-orbit anomalies remain in spite of the improved design. Up to now, few comprehensive comparative studies were conducted with respect to the similarities and the differences between the two effects that cause the on-board device errors and lead to failure of electronic equipment. This paper analyzes a large number of in-orbit cases, which show that there is a strong correlation between the spacecraft anomalies triggered by the two effects. Then, the possible reasons for the confusion of the two effects are analyzed, along with the ground simulation experiments conducted by the National Space Science Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences. The similarities and the differences between the soft errors induced by the SEE and the SESD, as well as their influence on the JK flip-flops, the operational amplifiers and the static random access memory (SRAM) are studied, to provide a reference for further development of technical methods to accurately identify and deal with the on-orbit anomalies.