Abstract: Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of serum gholgi protein 73 (GP73) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods The enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and eletrochemiluminescence immunoassay were employed to determine the level of serum GP73 and AFP in 77 patients with HCC,21 patients with liver cirrhosis,20 patients with hepatitis and 59 healthy subjects for further comparison and analysis.Results The levels of serum GP73 and AFP in HCC were significantly higher than those in cirrhosis,hepatitis and healthy controls (all P< 0.05).Patients with early-stage HCC had a markedly higher level of GP73 than those with liver cirrhosis (P< 0.05).However,there was no significant difference of AFP between these two groups (P>0.05).The diagnostic sensitivity of GP73 for HCC was significantly higher than that for AFP (85.7% vs 62.3%,P< 0.05).The combination detection was associated with an increased sensitivity (90.9%).Conclusions GP73 is an ideal serum marker for the diagnosis of liver diseases and monitoring of disease progression.The combination detection with AFP effectively improves the diagnosis accuracy of HCC.