Objective To compare the prognoses of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who underwent anatomic liver resection (AR) or non-anatomic liver resection (NAR) using propensity score-matching methods. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 124 HCC patients who were treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University between Jan.2010 and Dec.2015. The patients included 64 undergoing AR (AR group), and 60 undergoing NAR (NAR group). Propensity score-matching methods were used to assess the overall survival (OS) of the patients in AR and NAR groups while controlling the potential confounders, and the risk factors of prognosis of HCC patients were analyzed by Cox proportional hazard model. Results In the propensity score-matching cohort, the OS of the patients in AR group (n=29) was significantly longer than that in the NAR group (n=45) after propensity score-matching (52[44.83-59.17] months vs 38[31.45-44.55] months, P=0.005). The Cox proportional hazards model revealed that AR was associated with a superior OS (HR=0.54, 95%CI 0.30-0.96, P=0.04). Conclusion Propensity score-matching method has shown that AR can better improve the OS in HCC patients after liver resection compared with NAR.