Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency ablation(RFA) plus transcatheter arterial chemoemboliza-tion(TACE) in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC). Methods:PubMed(1978-2013),Cochrane library(1978-2013),EMBase(1978-2013) and CNKI(1978-2013) were searched for randomized controlled trials comparing efficacy of RFA plus TACE and RFA alone for HCC. Results:According to the inclusion criteria,nine studies were selected. Meta analysis data revealed that RFA plus TACE treatment had significantly better effectiveness on 1,3,5-year overall survival rate(OR1 year=2.34,95%CI=1.54 to 3.57,P=0.000;OR3 years=1.99,95%CI=1.43 to 2.77,P=0.000;OR5 years=2.26,95%CI=1.03 to 4.95,P=0.040) and 1,3-year recurrence free sur-vival rate(OR1 year=1.74,95%CI=1.16 to 2.63,P=0.008;OR3 years=2.47,95%CI=1.61 to 3.80,P=0.000) than those of RFA alone treatment. There was no difference in terms of major complications(OR=1.24,95%CI=0.79 to 1.95,P=0.360). Subgroup analyses by tumor size showed that 1,3-year overall survival rate was significantly improved in RFA plus TACE treatment than in RFA alone treatment in patients with HCC between 3 cm and 5 cm. Conclusion:Combination of RFA with TACE can significantly improve the recurrence free survival and overall survival of patients with HCC,especially for those with HCC between 3 cm and 5 cm.