A 57-year-old man with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) invading the hepatic duct was treated with transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE). The dilated hepatic duct was decompressed his jaundice disappeared and he survived for 10 months after the first TAE, succumbing due to bleeding from gastric erosion. Although total bilirubin was 26.7 mg/dl and massive ascites was noted on occasion of the first TAE, hepatic dysfunction did not worsen and both icterus and ascites decreased, disappearing one month after the therapy. Autopsy revealed HCC with trabecular arrangement originating in the left lobe and growing into the left hepatic duct accompanied by liver cirrhosis and follicular carcinoma of the thyroid gland. Severe icterus caused by bile duct obstruction does not correlate with the grade of hepatic failure in HCC with liver cirrhosis, so TAE was effective and should be tried as a first choice therapy in such a poor risk case.