Objective To sum up our experience on the diagnosis and treatment of rare hepatic tumors. Methods The data of 25 patients with rare liver tumors admitted in our hospital from May 2005 to January 2010 were analyzed retrospectively. Results The final pathologic diagnosis of focal nodular hyperplasia was made in 6 cases, and the diagnosis of vascular leiomyoma, hilar neurilemoma, intrahepatic aneurysm, biliary cystadenoma, hepatic hamartoma, biliary villous adenoma, and hepatic diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was established in one each case, respectively. The diagnosis of angiomyolipoma in 2patients, primary liver gastroimestinal stromal tumor in 2 patients, hepatoblastoma in 5 patients and liver undifferentiated sarcoma in 3 patients was established. Preoperative ultrasonography, CT and MRI were performed in 24, 22 and 6 patients respectively. Preoperative tentative diagnosis was finally confirmed by pathology in only 3 (16.7%) cases, all by CT report. Preoperative diagnosis was consistent with postoperative pathology in 5 patients (20%); All patients underwent liver resection including hemihepatectomy in 7 patients, hepatic lobectomy in 7 patients, segmentectomy in 9 patients and tumor enucleation in 2 patients; There was no recurrence after resection of benign, low malignant tumors and hepatic diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; Postoperative follow-up was made for all the 5 cases of malignant tumours, and there was recurrence in 3 cases. These 3 eases underwent second resection and there were no recurrences after reoperation. The two recurrent patients died with a mean survival of 4 months.Conclusions The preoperative correct imaging diagnostic rate for rare hepatic tumors is low. Surgery is the most effective therapy and reoperation should always be attempted for tumor recurrence in order to prolong survival.