For hepatocellular carcinoma patients with insufficient residual liver volume, associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) can achieve the goal of rapidly increasing residual liver volume and removing the tumor, but there are still drawbacks and uncertainties. As a new technique in the field of hepatobiliary surgery, the range of application of ALPPS has been expanded and its technique has been further improved in the past 10 years since its inception. This article summarizes the experience in implementing ALPPS in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in China and globally, analyzes the key issues of the application of ALPPS in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, and discusses its opportunities and challenges in the era of targeted therapy and immunotherapy.