Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization is now widely used in cases of surgically unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. However, it is unclear whether patients with surgically resectable hepatocellular carcinoma should always be treated with hepatectomy as opposed to transcatheter arterial chemoembolization. Sixty-six patients with hepatocellular carcinoma underwent hepatectomy, whereas 29 patients with more advanced hepatocellular carcinoma were treated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization at our hospital from 1984 to 1990. All cases were associated with cirrhosis of Child class A or B. All of them underwent hepatectomy or transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for the first time. Their outcomes were determined on March 31, 1991. The backgrounds and survival curves for hepatectomy and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization were compared in both Child A and Child B patients. For both Child A and B patients, no significant difference was found between hepatectomy and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization with respect to age, sex, cause of underlying cirrhosis, liver function assessed by indocyanine green test and maximum diameter of the main tumor. The incidence of multiple hepatocellular carcinoma, more advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (TNM stage III or IV) or both was significantly higher in the transcatheter arterial chemoembolization group than in the hepatectomy group for both Child A and Child B patients. The survival curves of both the hepatectomy and the transcatheter arterial chemoembolization groups showed no significant difference for both Child A and Child B patients. A prospective study is therefore warranted to elucidate whether hepatectomy or transcatheter arterial chemoembolization is more effective for treating resectable hepatocellular carcinoma associated with cirrhosis.