Abstract: Objective To evaluate the importance of regular follow-up for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.Methods A total of 32 early HCC patients who were treated at Weihai Municipality Hospital from January 2004 to June 2009 were included in the study. The size was<5 cm in diameter in 12 patients and ≤ 3cm in 20 patients. The early HCC patients were randomly divided into follow-up and non-follow-up groups (control group) . The detection rate, survival rate and the diagnostic value of AFP-L3 variants, and liver CT and MR were compared between the two groups.Results Of the total early HCC patients 75% and 25% of them were in the follow-up and control groups, respectively. 1, 2 and 3 years survival rates were significantly higher in early HCC than in mid-advanced HCC patients (P<0.01) . The early detection rate of CT and MR was increased and significantly different from B-ultrasound (P<0.01) . There was no significant difference between CT and MR in early liver cancer detection rate (P>0.05) . AFP-L3 was helpful in the diagnosis of early HCC. HCC patients who were receiving anti-viral treatment were older than non treatment group (P<0.05) .Conclusion A regular follow-up is essential to detect an early stage liver cancer. Antiviral treatment can delay the occurrence of HCC.