Objective: To assess the significance of antiviral therapy in liver cancer patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) undergoing radical resection. Methods: Sixty patients undergoing radical resection for liver cancer were divided into high-level viral replication group (load level of HBV-DNA≥105 copies/mL) and low-level viral replication group (load level of HBV-DNA<105 copies/mL), according to their HBV-DNA levels. The postoperative liver function, HBV-DNA levels and incidence of complications as well as length of hospital stay and costs between patients receiving antiviral therapy with adefovir dipivoxil and those who did not were compared within each group. Results: In either high-level viral replication group or low-level viral replication group, patients with antiviral treatment had better recovery of liver function and lower HBV-DNA levels than those without antiviral treatment, and all differences reached a statistical significance (all P<0.05); in either group, the incidence of postoperative complications was decreased and length of hospital stay and costs was reduced in patients who received antiviral treatment compared with those without antiviral treatment, and difference in incidence of postoperative complications in low-level viral replication group reached statistical significance while difference in length of hospital stay and costs in high-level viral replication group achieved statistical significance (all P<0.05). Conclusion: Antiviral therapy can effectively improve the postoperative liver function and virological indexes of liver cancer patients, so it has certain value in clinical practice.