Objective To compare the effects of TRIzol and magnetic beads methods on quantitative detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA. Methods Serum samples and genotype information of 117 patients with positive HCV infection were collected. HCV RNA was extracted from serum samples by TRIzol method and magnetic bead method, respectively. And then the viral load of HCV RNA was detected by quantitative PCR to compare the difference between the two methods. Results qPCR results showed that a good linear correlation existed between TRIzol and magnetic beads methods:y=0.978x+0.063 (R²=0.973). Bland-Altman statistical analysis showed that the average logarithmic value of viral load of HCV RNA extracted by TRIzol method was slightly lower than that of magnetic beads method, without significant difference (P>0.05). There were no significant difference among the genotypes 1a, 1b, 2a, 3a or 6a between the two methods (P>0.05). Conclusion TRIzol method is comparable to magnetic beads method in HCV RNA quantitative detection, with less sample volume and lower cost, indicating that it might be widely used for developing kit and HCV RNA clinical detection in China.