Aims To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study addressing the use of glucocorticoids in a comparatively special populationthe pure primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) patients who have high levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and transaminases but do not have PBC-autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) overlap syndrome.Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is now assumed to be the standard therapy for these PBC patients.However, the latest EASL guidelines declare that further studies of glucocorticoid therapy in this disease should be a priority.So we designed this 3-year longitudinal retrospective study, and this study might provide deep insight into the treatment for PBC.