Since the concept of liver segmental anatomy was first put forward by Francis Glisson in 1654, Hjortsjo segmentation, Healey arteriobiliary segmentation, Couinaud portal and hepatic vein segmentation have been proposed. Although the nomenclature of hepatic anatomy and resections was introduced in the international conference of HPB held in Brisbane, Australia in 2000, the development of liver anatomical techniques (such as iconography and virtual digital technique) as well as the constantly updating knowledge about segmentation of the liver lobe and understanding of the anatomy have raised some new issues. Retrospective analysis and understanding of the features of various segmentation methods and the rules of clinical practice will help us find the most suitable idea of "precise liver resection" in nowadays. © 2013 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.