INTRODUCTION: When the major hepatic vein or a Glissonean pedicle is in contact with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM), surgeons must decide whether it should be resected; however, the impact of vessel preservation on local recurrence remains unclear. METHODS: Resected CRLM (n = 273) from 125 patients were assigned to one of the following groups in this retrospective study: Group A, apart from vessels (n = 225); group B, hepatic vein contact (n = 31); or group C, Glissonean pedicle contact (n = 30). We analyzed the local recurrence rate (LRR) in each group. RESULTS: The total LRR in groups A, B, and C was 9.3%, 9.7%, and 23.0%, respectively. In group A, R1 resection was associated with a significantly higher LRR than R0 resection (25.0% vs 6.7%, p = 0.0011); however, the margin widths were not related to LRR. In group B, the LRR for hepatic vein preservation and resection did not differ (8.3% vs 11.5%). In group C, the Glissonean pedicle preservation group had a higher LRR than the resection group (75.0% vs 4.8%, p = 0.0001). The 5-year overall survival rate of the local recurrence group (19.4%) was significantly lower than that of the no recurrence group (86.4%, p < 0.001), the intrahepatic recurrence (except local recurrence) group (66.7%, p = 0.032), and extrahepatic recurrence group (47.0%, p = 0.045). CONCLUSION: R0 resection for CRLM, apart from those involving vessels, can achieve local control. Although preserving hepatic vein contact with CRLM is acceptable, the Glissonean pedicle should be resected because of the higher LRR.