Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer and the third cause of cancer-related death worldwide; meanwhile, it is also one of the fastest growing malignancies. The causes of HCC are multiple; HBV is the most important cause in China, with about 25%-30% of HBV infection patients finally develop hepatic cirrhosis and liver cancer. At present, large scale epidemiological studies revealed that the metabolic syndrome (MS) was closely related to liver cancer, and it even served as an independent risk factor for the occurrence and progression of liver cancer.Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a metabolic syndrome clinically manifested in the liver; recently it has been indicated to be closely related with HCC development and progression. This paper reviews the recent researches on metabolic syndrome and liver cancer, so as to provide literature for preventive and therapeutic studies on non-virus-related liver cancer.