Radiotherapy is one of the basic treatments for malignant tumors, but before the 1990s, radiotherapy was rarely performed for patients with hepatocellular liver cancer because of its poor effect and large damage to the liver. After the mid-1990s, modern precision radiotherapy techniques have developed rapidly, including 3D conformal radiotherapy, intensity modulated conformal radiotherapy and stereotactic radiotherapy, which are increasingly mature and widely used, providing new opportunities for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma by radiotherapy. Domestic and foreign scholars have reported clinical practice and research on the use of modern precision radiotherapy for the treatment of HCC that cannot be surgically resected, and for selected HCC patients, the 3-year survival rate after radiotherapy can reach 25%-30%. It is generally accepted that radiotherapy can be considered for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma whose tumors are confined and cannot be surgically resected due to poor liver function, or whose tumors are located in important anatomical structures that cannot be technically resected, or whose patients refuse surgery. In addition, patients with distant metastases can sometimes be treated with palliative care to control pain or relieve compression.