Different types of effector and memory T lymphocytes are induced and maintained in protective or pathological immune responses. Here we characterized two human CD4 T17 helper cell subsets that, in the recently activated state, could be distinguished on the basis of their expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. IL-10 T17 cells upregulated a variety of genes encoding immunoregulatory molecules, as well as genes whose expression is characteristic of tissue-resident T cells. In contrast, IL-10 T17 cells maintained a pro-inflammatory gene-expression profile and upregulated the expression of homing receptors that guide recirculation from tissues to blood. Expression of the transcription factor c-MAF was selectively upregulated in IL-10 T17 cells, and it was bound to a large set of enhancer-like regions and modulated the immunoregulatory and tissue-residency program. Our results identify c-MAF as a relevant factor that drives two highly divergent post-activation fates of human T17 cells and provide a framework with which to investigate the role of these cells in physiology and immunopathology.