Background This retrospective study was undertaken to analyze the outcome of hepatic resection in fifty-two patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) between January 2004 and December 2008.Methods Among these fifty-two patients,the mean diameter of the tumor was 7.9 cm (4.4-15.5 cm,median 8.5 cm) prior to the first transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE).After 1-6 times of TACE (median 2),the median tumor diameter was reduced to 4.2 cm (0-8.4 cm) prior to resection.The duration between the last TACE treatment and sequential resection varied from one to six months (median 2.7 months).Serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels were abnormal in thirty-eight out of the fifty-two patients.In AFP producing HCCs,AFP levels returned to normal (≤400 μg/L) in twenty-five out of thirty-eight patients.Hepatic segmentectomy,multiple hepatic segmentectomy or partial hepatic resection were performed in forty-five patients,two underwent extended left hemihepatectomy,and one underwent right posterior branch portal vein thrombectomy.One patient received a right hemihepatectomy and three had left hemihepatectomies.Results Complete tumor radiological response (CR) occurred in five patients (9.6％).There were three cases of perioperative mortality in the fifty-two patients (5.8％).One patient underwent salvaged orthotopic liver transplantation,and twenty-one patients observed tumor recurrence within two years.The 1-,3- and 5-year survival rates of the fifty-two patients were 77.0％ (n=40),55.0％ (n=29),and 52.0％ (n=28),respectively.The median survival time after surgery was 49 months (95％ confidence interval 7.5-52.7 months).Conclusions TACE treatment provides a better chance for HCC resection in patients initially diagnosed with unresectable HCC.Furthermore,liver resection should be performed once the tumor is downstaged to be compatible for successful resection