Abstract: Objective To estimate the value of indocyanine green （ICG） clearance test in the assessment for liver reserve function in patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods Fifty healthy persons were selected as control （control group），and 64 patients with liver cirrhosis were recruited for this study. ICG retention rate at 15 min （ICGR15） was measured by DDG-3300K analyzer（Japan）. Meanwhile，all the patients received test of hepatic function，routine analysis of blood and abdominal ultrasound. The Child-Turcotte-Pugh （CTP） scores were calculated for classification. Data were analyzed by linear correlation test and spearman rank correlation test. Results ICGR15 of patients with liver cirrhosis were higher than that in the controls [（28.5±18.3） % vs. （4.7±1.2）%，P<0.05]；The higher the CTP scores，the higher the ICGR15 in patients with liver cirrhosis （F=40.97，P<0.05）；ICGR15 was positively correlated with the CTP scores （r=0.650，P<0.05） and negatively correlated with hepatic blood flow （r=-0.715，P<0.05） and plasma clearance rates （r=-0.817，P<0.05）；The levels of PLT counts，PT，INR，ALT，prealbumin，albumin and total protein （TP） in patients with different ICGR15 were statistically different （F=23.44，F=14.05，F=11.13，F=33.63，F=25.3，F=10.58，F=23.51，respectively，P<0.05）；ICGR15 was positively correlated with the levels of PT and TP （r=0.537 and r=0.487，P<0.05） and negatively correlated with the levels of prealbumin，albumin and ALT（r=-0.498，r=-0.497 and r=-0.272，P<0.05），and the ICGR15 had the most significant correlation with the levels of PT and prealbumin. Conclusion The ICG clearance test can dynamically reveal liver reserve function in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Key words: Liver cirrhosis, Indocyanine green clearance test, Liver reserve function, CTP classification