Primary liver cancer(PLC)is one of the most common cancers in the world.Despite various treatment options for PLC,the overall prognosis of PLC is still poor due to the insidious clinical symptoms in the early stages of the disease.PLC often occurs in the presence of chronic liver diseases,such as cirrhosis,viral hepatitis,and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.In the past decade,there has been increasing evidence that the bacterial flora in the intestinal tract plays a key role in the development of PLC.Trimethylamine oxide(TMAO),as an important metabolite of intestinal flora,has been shown to be associ-ated with a variety of diseases,such as cardiovascular disease,chronic kidney disease,colorectal cancer,but the mechanism of its interaction with PLC remains less studied.We hereby review relevant literatures of TMAO in PLC research and provide a comprehensive overview of the underlying effect of TMAO in PLC,aiming to present more insights into its mechanism,and new ideas and methods for disease prevention and treatment.