The levels of serum EGF in 30 patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma and 48 healthy people were determined with RIA to study the levels of serum EGF in primary hepatocellular carcinoma and the correlation between EGF and AFP to investigate the action and significance in the course of primary hepatocellular carcinoma evolution. It showed that EGF contents in patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma decreased significantly compared with normal control (P<0.01) . By analysis of correlation, there was no relation between EGF and AFP. It suggested that the variation of serum EGF has some clinical significance in diagnosing forepart of hepatocellular carcinoma, meanwhile no correlativity between EGF and AFP showed that EGF may play a differ role in the mechanism of hepatocellular carcinoma occurence from AFP.