Prevention is an increasingly important area of modern medicine. One of the foremost goals in the field of hepatology is prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma since this tumor has a poor prognosis and current therapeutic options are limited. Most hepatocellular carcinomas arise from chronic liver disease and liver cirrhosis which is considered a major risk factor for tumor development. The most common etiologic factors causing liver cirrhosis include chronic viral hepatitis, alcohol consumption, toxins and a few metabolic disorders. This review discusses current therapeutic concepts for prevention and treatment of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis.