Objective To study the efficiency of percutaneous acetic acid injection (PAI) or percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) in the treatment of primary hepatic carcinoma (PHC). Methods Seventeen and 24 patients with PHC were treated, respectively by PAI or by PEI in our hospital. According to hepatic function test, soluble intereukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), AFP, biopsy and size of tumor, the evaluation was made.Results Effective rate was 88.2% in PAI group and 87.5% in PEI group, respectively. There was no obvious influence to sIL-2R in serum in the two groups (Ｐ＞0.05). Obvious differences in impairment of hepatic functions between PAI and PEI groups were found (Ｐ＜0.01), it also showed that smaller amounts of acetic acid and less puncture frequency were required for the treatment than that of ethanol. Conclusion PAI is superior to PEI in the treatment of those patients who are complicated with cirrhosis or other vital disease.