Objective:To assess whether blood loss will be decreased during hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by decreasing central venous pressure (CVP). Methods:Fifty patients with HCC admitted before December 2003 were randomly allocated to the lowCVP (LCVP) liver resection group (n=25) or routine hepatectomy control group (n=25).During the parenchymal transection phase of surgery,the CVP of 2-4 mmHg and systolic blood pressure (SBP) >90 mmHg were maintained in LCVP group by management of patient's body position and drugs use.However,no special management of CVP and SBP was done in the routine hepatectomy group.The total bleeding volume,parenchymal transection bleeding volume,blood transfusion,hospital stay,postoperative hepatic and renal function changes between two groups were compared. Results:No significant differences were observed in maximal tumor diameter,type of hepatectomy,time of vascular clamping,period of operation,weight of resected liver tissue,postoperative morbidity,postoperative hepatic and renal functions between the LCVP and the control group.Total bleeding volume and parenchymal transection bleeding volume in LCVP group were (903.9±180.8) mL and (672.4±429.9) mL respectively,which were significantly lower than those in control group (W=495.5 and 543.5,P<0.01).Hospital stay in LCVP group was significantly shortened compared with control group [(16.3±6.8) d vs (21.5±8.6 )d,W=532.5,P<0.05]. Conclusions:Lowering CVP during hepatectomy for HCC is easy to control. With the maintenance of CVP ≤4mmHg,blood loss during parenchymal transection and hospital stay are markedly decreased,and it is no detrimental effect to hepatic or renal function.