Objective: To investigate the influence of short-term glucocorticoid therapy on liver function recovery in patients after hepatectomy for primary liver cancer and the associated adverse effects. Methods: The clinical data of 126 patients with primary liver cancer undergoing open hepatectomy during January 2014 to August 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Of the patients, 63 cases received conventional postoperative management such as hepatoprotective treatment and albumin supplement (control group), the other 63 cases received the conventional postoperative management plus intravenous infusion of methylprednisolone, 80 mg/d, for the first three postoperative days and then 40 mg/d for the next two days (glucocorticoid therapy group). The pre- and postoperative liver function parameters, incidence of hepatic insufficiency, albumin usage and incidence of postoperative complications and length of hospital stay were compared between the two groups. Results: The preoperative and operative data were comparable between the two groups (all P>0.05). The serum levels of albumin and transaminases as well as postoperative albumin usage and length of postoperative hospital stay showed no significant difference between the two groups (all P>0.05), while, the total bilirubin level on postoperative day 2 and 3, incidence of hepatic insufficiency (19.0% vs. 34.9%) and overall incidence of postoperative complications (27.0% vs. 44.4%) in glucocorticoid treatment group were significantly lower than those in control group (all P<0.05). Conclusion: Short-term glucocorticoid treatment after hepatectomy for primary liver cancer is beneficial to liver function recovery and reducing complications of the patients, without increase of the glucocorticoid-related adverse effects.