Primary liver cancer is the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and hepatocellular carcinoma is the main type of primary liver cancer. HCC is insidious and asymptomatic at an early stage, and when clinically relevant, the disease is often in the middle to late stages. As a result, most patients miss out on radical treatment at the time of diagnosis, leading to high recurrence and metastasis rates and poor prognosis. At present, there are more and more methods in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Photothermal therapy, as an emerging cancer treatment, has attracted widespread attention due to its minimally invasive, low-cost, high efficiency, low side effects and strong targeting. Research progress of photothermal therapy and its synergistic therapy in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma were reviewed in this paper, aiming to explore new ideas and strategies for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.