Patients with chronic hepatic encephalopathy can survive for decades, while those with acute hepatic encephalopathy can rapidly progress to hepatic coma and death within a few days. Hepatic encephalopathy is a disorder of the central nervous system caused by severe acute or chronic liver dysfunction or various abnormalities of the portal vein-body circulation shunt. Acute hepatic encephalopathy is commonly associated with fulminant hepatic failure, and patients may experience short-term euphoria, agitation, delirium, etc. and rapidly enter coma or even die. Chronic hepatic encephalopathy is common after cirrhosis, primary hepatocellular carcinoma and portal-body shunt, and can manifest as intermittent fluctuating disorders of consciousness, changes in personality and behavior, and then develop into hepatic coma, which can last for years or even decades. Hepatic encephalopathy is a serious medical emergency with a high mortality rate. Treatment requires active treatment of the primary disease, elimination of various causes of hepatic encephalopathy, correction of metabolic disorders and prevention of various complications.