ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of recipient hepatic artery reconstruction site selection on early ischemic-type biliary lesion (ITBL) after liver transplantation. Methods The clinical data of 656 cadaver liver transplantation were collected retrospectively from January 2015 to January 2020 in the Liver Transplantation Center of West China Hospital of Sichuan University and the Institute of Organ Transplantation of Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Patients were divided into two groups according to the reconstruction sites of recipient arteries. The distal group was anastomosed at left hepatic artery, right hepatic artery or proper hepatic artery. The proximal group was anastomosed at the gastroduodenal artery, the common hepatic artery or the common hepatic artery-gastroduodenal artery bifurcation. To investigate the differences in the incidence of early postoperative complications between the two groups and the factors influencing the development of ITBL within one year after transplantation. Results Of 656 patients, 262 were in the distal group and 394 were in the proximal group. The incidence of hepatic artery thrombosis was lower in the proximal group than that in the distal group (χ²=5.675, P=0.017), while the differences in the incidences of ITBL-related graft failure and rejection-related graft failure were not statistically significant when compared (all P>0.05). Multivariate logistic regression results showed that hepatic artery thrombosis [OR=4.453, 95%CI (1.318, 15.050), P=0.016] and cold ischemia time >6 h [OR=1.844, 95%CI (1.014, 3.353), P=0.045] were risk factors for early postoperative ITBL in the liver transplant patients, while different hepatic artery reconstruction categories were not risk factors for ITBL [OR=1.166, 95% CI (0.630, 2.157), P=0.625]. Conclusion Hepatic artery anastomosis reconstruction with the recipient common hepatic artery, gastroduodenal artery, and Carrel flap at the common hepatic artery-gastroduodenal artery bifurcation can somewhat reduce the difficulty of anastomosis and does not increase the risk of postoperative ITBL.