Elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein may be related to physiological factors, malignant tumors, cirrhosis, and so on. The details are as follows: 1. Physiological factors: commonly found in pregnant women during pregnancy. In the process of pregnancy, the infantile liver cells in the fetus are secreted in large quantities and flow into the pregnant mother with the umbilical cord blood, which in turn leads to the elevation of serum alpha-fetoprotein in the pregnant mother. 2. Malignant tumor: mostly seen in primary liver cancer. This is mainly caused by rapid division of liver cancer cells, and serum alpha-fetoprotein is the most important serum tumor marker for primary liver cancer. 3. Cirrhosis: the liver has strong regenerative ability, in the process of liver cell destruction, there will also be a large number of liver cell regeneration, which in turn causes serum alpha-fetoprotein to be elevated. In conclusion, when the serum alpha-fetoprotein is found to be elevated, it is recommended to go to the hospital in time to find out the cause of the disease and then treat the symptoms.