Objective To investigate the expression and significance of β-catenin and p28GANK in residual hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)cells after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE).Methods We collected forty-five cases of surgical specimens of hepatocellular carcinoma after TACE ( TACE group ) and thirty cases of surgery without any treatment (pure surgery group).The expression of β-catenin and p28GANK were detected by using immunohistochemical SP method and compared between the two groups .Results The positive expression of β-catenin and p28GANK in TACE group were 77.78%and 75.56%respectively,which were significantly higher than those in pure surgery group (46.67%and 53.33%respectively,P<0.05).In the residual hepatocellular carcinoma cells of TACE group ,the positive expression of β-catenin showed correlation with the positive expression of p28GANK(Φ=0.318,P =0.033).The high expression of β-catenin and p28GANK were closely related to portal vein thrombosis and distant metastasis (P<0.05).Conclusion The ex-pression of β-catenin and p28GANK in the residual hepatocellular carcinoma cells were increased significantly after TACE.The high expression of β-catenin and p28GANK were closely related to portal vein thrombosis and distant metastasis.The high expression of β-catenin and p28GANK may be one of the reasons of hepatocellular carcinoma invasiveness and metastasis .