Surgical resection is one of the radical treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma, and the traditional method in the past required incision of the abdominal wall. However, with the further understanding of hepatic vascular anatomy and the continuous development and innovation of hepatic precision surgery technology and laparoscopic technology, laparoscopy has been more and more widely used in hepatocellular carcinoma surgery. Laparoscopic hepatocellular carcinoma surgery has been developing rapidly in recent years due to relatively small trauma, less intraoperative bleeding, low postoperative complication rate and short hospital stay, from the initial laparoscopic biopsy of liver marginal tissues and open window treatment of liver cysts to the current prospect of becoming the gold standard surgery for left outer lobe resection of liver. The “tumor-free” advantage of laparoscopic hepatectomy, less intraoperative bleeding and less blood transfusion, as well as the better protection of immune function, especially cellular immune function, after laparoscopic hepatectomy, all theoretically support the efficacy of laparoscopic hepatectomy. On the other hand, less severe adhesions after laparoscopic hepatectomy also provide room for sequential treatment for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma resection or further liver transplantation.