Abstract: Objective : To investigate the expression and clinical impact of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods : We collected 93 HCC resection samples with complete clinical and prognostic data. Immunohistochemical staining of VEGF and MMP-2 were conducted in recurrent group (44) and non-recurrent group (49). Correlations of the expression of MMP-2 and VEGF with clinicopathologic features were analyzed. Results : The positive rates of VEGF and MMP-2 expression in HCC tissues were 52.69% and 67.74%, respectively. These two indices were expressed in cytoplasm. The positive rates of VEGF and MMP-2 were significantly higher in recurrent group than in non-recurrent group (68.18% vs. 88.64%; 36.78% vs. 48.98%). The 2-year tumor free survival rates of MMP-2 (+) group and MMP-2 (-) group were 41.42% and 63.36%, respectively. The MMP-2 (+) group has a lower survival rate than the MMP-2 (-) group (P =0.0142). The 2-year survival rates of VEGF (+) group and VEGF (-) group were 48.50% and 52.21%, respectively, with no statistical significance (P =0.1834). Conclusion : HCC which highly expresses MMP-2 has a higher rate of recurrence, a lower survival rate, and a poorer prognosis. The expression of MMP-2 can be used to estimate the risk of postoperative recurrence of HCC.