ObjectiveTo study the mechanism, diagnosis and treatment of spontaneous rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for the purpose of screening out the effective methods of diagnosis and treatment. MethodsArticles have been reviewed to find out the difference among many kinds of diagnosis and treatment. ResultsThe mechanism of spontaneous rupture was not clear. Possible factors included tumor necrosis, coagulopathy, cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Diagnosis of spontaneous rupture of HCC can be made by abdominal paracentesis, ultrasonography and CT. Judging from the reported results the first choice of emergency treatment for hemostasis was transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE). The rational treatment of patients with ruptured HCC was TAE followed by hepatectomy if the lesion was resectable. ConclusionThe prognosis of patients with ruptured HCC could be improved if the correct diagnosis and treatment can be adopted.