Objective To study a simple and practical method of isolation, culture and identification of hepatic oval cells from adult rat. Methods Wistar adult rats were fed by 2-acetaminofluorere （AAF） and were stimulated by partial hepatectomy to activate the proliferation of hepatic oval cells. After operation 12 days, the livers were resected for isolating oval cells. Hepatic tissue was digested by 0.10% collagenase Ⅳ and the obtained heterogeneous liver cells were then isolated and purified by density gradient centrifugation. The expressions of albumin and CK19 mRNA in hepatic oval cells were analyzed by immuno-fluorescence and RT-PCR. Results The survival rate of the newly isolated oval cells was more than 90%. The hepatic stem cells were shown by immuno-fluorescence of stem cell’s antigen c-kit. The expressions of mRNA CK19 and albumin of the oval cell were also detected by PCR. The proliferation activity of the newly isolated oval cells was significantly high and they could be induced to differentiate into both hepatic and bile ductal cells by some growth factors. Conclusion The successful development of the simple and feasible isolation and purification procedure as well as the identification method for hepatic oval cells may provide a fundamental for further studies about bionomics of the hepatic stem cell and the relation between stem cells and hepatic carcinoma.