【Abstract】 Objective To study the value of MRI and CT in the diagnosis of lesions after TACE for primary liver cancer (PHC). Methods The clinical data of 128 patients received TACE for the treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma in our hospital between September 2015 and December 2016 were analyzed. MRI, CT and DSA were given to all these patients, with digital subtraction angiography (DSA) as the gold standard. The diagnostic results of MRI and CT were compared. Results As the DSA findings shown, there were 166 lesions found in the 128 patients. 115 lesions were found to be recurrent or residual tumor and 51 recurrent or residual tumor lesions. There were 108 recurrent or residual tumor lesions detected through MRI. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were 9453%， 9304% and 10000%. There were 76 recurrent or residual tumor lesions found by CT. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were 6953%，6608% and 10000%. The diagnostic accuracy of MRI was high compared with that of CT (P<005). The detection rate of MRI for the determination of lesions with tumor capsule after resection of the lesions was higher than that of CT (P<005). Conclusion The sensitivity, accuracy and the detection rate of tumor capsule lesions of MRI are all higher than those of CT, which is of high value for the diagnosis of recurrent or resiual lesions after TACE for primary hepatocellular carcinoma.