Biliary atresia (BA) and infant hepatitis syndrome (IHS) are common causes of obstructive jaundice in newborns and infants. Infant hepatitis syndrome is an infection of the liver or a metabolic abnormality that is most often resolved with medical treatment or biliary flushing. Biliary atresia is the most common serious liver disease in neonates and infants and is clinically characterized by progressive inflammation and fibrous obstruction of the intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts, leading to cholestasis as well as progressive liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, and non-surgical treatment often results in death before 2 years of age. The incidence of biliary atresia is higher in Asia than in Western countries, with an incidence of 1:9600 in Japan, about 1:15000 in the United Kingdom and the United States, and about 1:10000 in China. The jaundice in children with BA appears early and the symptoms are severe, so it is best to operate within the sixth to eighth week after birth. 3 months later, the liver damage is irreversible and the cirrhosis progresses rapidly, so surgery is not effective. A clear clinical diagnosis must be made early and timely surgical intervention is required. Common clinical diagnostic methods for biliary atresia include color Doppler, radionuclide hepatobiliary imaging, MRCP and ERCP. Intraoperative cholangiography is the recognized “gold standard” for the diagnosis of biliary atresia at home and abroad. Therefore, the author suggests that intraoperative cholangiography should be performed promptly in infants with cutaneous scleral jaundice with clay-like stools to reduce the incidence of biliary cirrhosis and save the life of the child.