Hilar cholangiocarcinoma has received great attention in the past 25 years because of its rising prevalence. However, the results of surgical treatment of hilar cholangiocar-cinoma are still unsatisfactory. A series of studies on cholangio-carcinoma, both clinical and experimental, were conducted in the Research Institute of Hepatobiliary Surgery of PLA. Detailed clinicopathological research revealed the characteristics of nerve involvement and metastasis of bile duct cancer, which may be responsible for the high recurrence after surgical removal. Hepa-titis C virus may be one of the causal factors of bile duct cancer in China. Clinically, of the 402 patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma, 51. 5% of the resections were found to be R0. The 5-year survival rate was 33. 3% and the morality rate was 0.3%. For those high-risk patients with jaundice, when resec-tion of the hepatic artery was found to be necessary, an arterial-portal venous shunt was constructed with satisfactory results. However, the best approach to treat hilar cholangiocarcinoma still needs further investigation.