Antiviral therapy is the key measure for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. At present, there are two major types of drugs in antiviral therapy, one is interferon and the other is nucleoside drugs. It is the common wish of both doctors and patients that the virus will be completely eliminated and never come back, but the current treatment methods are still far from realizing this goal. Therefore, before antiretroviral treatment, it is helpful to know what to expect from the treatment, so as to better understand and comply with the treatment program. By synthesizing the recommendations of authoritative foreign guidelines and the experience of clinical practice, the efficacy process of hepatitis B antiviral treatment can be roughly divided into the following three levels: The first level: normalization of liver function and negative viral quantification, which is the basic goal of antiviral treatment. Negative viral quantification and normalization of liver function suggest that viral replication is significantly weakened or stopped, inflammatory activity in the liver is reduced or disappears, and disease progression is delayed. Both interferon therapy and nucleoside therapy can achieve this basic goal, and the latter has an advantage in this regard. It is important to note that achieving this goal does not mean that treatment should be stopped immediately. If the drug is stopped quickly, viral replication is likely to rebound, so treatment should be continued in order to achieve the goals of the second level. Second level: e-antigen seroconversion on the basis of continued normal liver function and continued HBV DNA negativity, and sustained response after discontinuation. e-antigen-positive chronic hepatitis B patients who continue treatment after achieving the first goal can achieve e-antigen seroconversion, i.e., e-antigen negative and e-antibody emergence, which reflects a significant turnaround in the strength of the body’s immune system and the hepatitis B virus, and achieve immune control, and therefore should continue treatment after discontinuation. Immune control is achieved, and therefore a durable response can be achieved after stopping the drug. Interferon therapy has a higher chance of achieving e antigen seroconversion than nucleoside therapy. Long-term nucleoside therapy results in e-antigen conversion in less than 30% of patients, whereas interferon therapy achieves e-antigen seroconversion in up to more than 60% of patients. At the same time, nucleoside therapy has a high relapse rate after e antigen seroconversion, whereas interferon therapy has a durable response after discontinuation of the drug. Third level: achieving surface antigen clearance on the basis of the second level. Surface antigen clearance is a state of near clinical cure. Few patients achieve this goal, although the number of patients achieving surface antigen clearance has increased with improvements in antiviral treatment strategies, such as extended interferon therapy and combination nucleoside therapy. As antiviral therapy becomes more widely available, more and more patients with chronic hepatitis B expect better outcomes, and following medical advice and adherence to treatment will be one step closer to better outcomes.