ObjectiveTo investigate the therapeutic effect of the frozen and fresh preparations of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells （hUC-MSC） on a rat model of liver cirrhosis after transplantation via the portal vein or the caudal vein. MethodsA total of 70 specific pathogen-free healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal group （13 rats fed with ordinary tap water and rat food） and liver cirrhosis model group （57 rats given subcutaneous multi-point injection of mixed carbon tetrachloride/olive oil solution）. At week 8， the growth of rats was observed for both groups， and 3 rats were selected from each group for histopathological examination to confirm the formation of liver cirrhosis. A total of 50 rats were selected from the liver cirrhosis model and were divided into model group， portal vein group+fresh cell preparation group， portal vein+frozen cell preparation group， caudal vein+fresh cell preparation group， and caudal vein+frozen cell preparation group using a random number table， with 10 rats in each group. Fresh or frozen hUC-MSC were transplanted via the portal vein or the caudal vein， and after 4 weeks of administration， the different groups were compared in terms of the changes in liver function parameters and liver fibrosis degree. Continuous data were expressed as mean±standard deviation， and the independent-samples t test was used for comparison between two groups； a one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between multiple groups， and the least significant difference t-test was used for further comparison between two groups. ResultsAt week 8 of modeling， the model group showed the formation of pseudolobules of different sizes in the liver and met the diagnostic criteria for liver cirrhosis， with significant increases in the levels of alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， total bilirubin （TBil）， and alkaline phosphatase （ALP） compared with the normal group （all P<0.001）， suggesting that the rat model of liver cirrhosis was established successfully. There were significant differences in the levels of ALT， AST， TBil， and ALP between the five groups （F=232.00， 177.10， 112.30， 121.70， all P<0.001）. Further comparison between two groups showed that the model group had significantly higher levels of ALT， AST， TBil， and ALP than the normal group （all P<0.01）， and the portal vein group+fresh cell preparation group， the portal vein+frozen cell preparation group， the caudal vein+fresh cell preparation group， and the caudal vein+frozen cell preparation group had significantly lower levels of ALT， AST， TBil， and ALP than the model group （all P<0.01）. ConclusionThere are significant improvements in liver function and liver fibrosis degree in a rat model of liver cirrhosis at week 4 after the transplantation of hUC-MSC， and frozen or fresh cell preparation and different transplantation approaches have no significant influence on treatment outcome.