Anatomic hepatectomy is a new concept and surgical approach that distinguishes it from previous regular or irregular hepatectomies. To date, there is no universally accepted definition, but the main idea is to perform hepatic vascular, especially portal vein, flow blockage in the corresponding hepatic segment before performing hepatic resection. As more and more experiments have confirmed that the portal vein is the most important metastatic route for both primary and metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma. The freeing of the liver and the compression of the tumor during surgery can cause the metastasis of the tumor along the portal vein pathway, thus resulting in postoperative recurrence and metastasis. The only way to reduce the occurrence of metastasis is to deal with the blood vessels first. In fact, metastasis can occur when the tumor is small, but the metastasis is often confined to the segment of the liver where it is located. Therefore, resection of the liver segment where the tumor is located can effectively prevent recurrence. This is the concept and the advantage of anatomical liver resection. Although the need to deal with the blood vessels first increases the difficulty and time of surgery, it reduces bleeding and maximizes the protection of liver function, so the patient recovers faster after surgery.