Objective To study the results of repeat hepatectomy,followed by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy (PMCT),but with or without portal vein chemotherapy (PVC) in patients with recurrence of hepatocelluar carcinoma (HCC) after partial hepatectomy.Methods The data of 33 patients were analyzed retrospectively.All these patients received repeat hepatectomy.They were then divided into two groups:the PVC group (n =19) was treated with PVC + TACE + PMCT,and the non-PVC group (n =14) with TACE + PMCT.Results For the 33 patients,13 (39.4%) developed tumor recurrence >2 years from the initial resection while 20 patients (60.6%) developed recurrence within ≤ 2 years.The tumor recurrence consisted of local recurrence in 14 patients (42.4%),and heterochronous recurrence in 19 patients (57.6%).There was a significantly difference in the cumulative survival rates between the two groups (x2 =4.319; P =0.038).The 1y,3y,5y survival rates were 84.2%,42.1%,31.6% in the PVC Group,and 71.4%,28.6%,14.3% in the Non-PVC Group respectively.28 sessions of PMCT and 97 sessions of TACE were performed postoperatively (the medians were 1,0.5; 3,3 respectively,the mean ranks were 17.68,16.07; 15.05,19.64 respectively,and the P values were 0.612,0.163 respectively between the two groups).Conclusions For patients with recurrence of HCC after hepatic resection,after repeat hepatectomy PVC + TACE + PMCT gave better survival than those with TACE + PMCT but without PVC. Key words: Hepatocelluar carcinoma; Liver cancer recurrence; Portal vein chemotherapy; Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization; Percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy