Abstract: Objective To investigate the expressions of Notch1 and Notch3 in human hepatocellular carcinoma（HCC）and analyze their relationship with clinicopathological characteristics. Methods Paraffinembedded specimens of tumor tissues and corresponding adjacent nontumor tissues from 42 patients with HCC were collected from December 2012 to May 2013. The expressions of Notch1 and Notch3 in the above tissues were measured by immunohistochemical staining. The relationship between the expressions of Notch1, Notch3 in tumor tissues and clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. Results The overall positive expression rates of Notch1 and Notch3 were 57.1％ and 16.7％，with 38.1％ and 11.9％，23.8％ and 4.8％，and 2.4％ and 0 in nucleus，cytoplasm and cell membrane，respectively. Only the positive expression rate of Notch1 in the nucleus of tumor tissues was higher than that of adjacent non-tumor tissues（16.7%）with significant differences（P＜0.05）. The positive expression of Notch1 was associated with pathological differentiation（P＜0.05）. No relation was observed between Notch3 positive expression and clinicopathological characteristics. Conclusion Notch1 and Notch3 are expressed in HCC with different intensity and extensity, and mainly express in cytoplasm and nucleus. Notch1 may be involved in the carcinogenesis and progression of HCC.