Abstract: The liver and skeletal muscles are responsible for maintaining glucose metabolism. As chronic liver disease progresses to cirrhosis,the liver disfunction leads to the deterioration of glucose metabolism. Consequently,impaired glucose tolerance（IGT） and insulin resistance（IR） are often observed in patients with liver cirrhosis. In early stage,the cirrhotics with hepatogenous diabetes is characterized by marked postprandial hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia. Generally,it is possible to underestimate IGT when using either the conventional fasting plasma glucose （FPG） criterion or hemoglobin A1c （HbA1c） levels because many of these patients show lower FPG or HbA1c levels,which might mask their IGT. In this circumstances,the oral glucose tolerance test is recommended to properly evaluate patients with normal FPG levels.

Key words: Liver cirrhosis, Diabetes, Glucose intolerance, Oral glucose tolerance test, Prognosis