Objective To evaluate the impact of anatomic and non-anatomic liver resection on prognosis of patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) using a Meta-analysis.Methods Literature on anatomic versus non-anatomic liver resection for the treatment of small HCC ( ≤5 cm) was retrieved. Results Four nonrandomized controlled trials were included consisting of 776 patients:484 undergoing anatomic liver resection and 292 non-anatomic resection.The age ranged from 53.4 to 63.0 years.Male ∶ female ratio was 3.56 ∶ 1.87.1％ patients were Child-Pugh class A.Most patients (94.5％ ) had a single tumor.No significant differences were found conceming the 1,3,and 5 year disease-free survival rate between the two groups.There was no significant difference in overall survival and disease-free survival between the two groups at 1,3,and 5 years.Sensitivity analysis found anatomic resection was superior to non-anatomic resection in 3 year disease free survival rate (OR =0.72,95％ CI:0.52 - 0.99,P =0.04). Conclusions Anatomic liver resection elevated the 3 year disease free survival rate of patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma when compared with non-anatomic hepatectomy but failed to further elevate long-term disease free survival and overall survival.