Abstract: Objective To investigate the hepatic expression of HIF-1α and SDF-1α in patients with chronic liver failure. Methods Liver tissues were obtained from 21 patients with chronic liver failure and 10 controls receiving liver resection for benign lesions，and HIF-1α and SDF-1α were stained immunohistochemically. Results HIF-1α and SDF-1α were overexpressed in livers of patients with chronic liver failure. The positive rates were 57.1% and 71.4%，respectively，much higher than in the normal liver tissues（P<0.05）；There was an positive correlation between the expression of HIF-1α and SDF-1α in chronic liver failure（r=0.482，P<0.05）. Conclusion HIF-1α and SDF-1α are highly expressed in chronic liver failure， which might promotes the repairment of injuried liver tissues.

Key words: Chronic liver failure, HIF-1α, SDF-1α