Objective:To observe the effect of Chishao Chengqi decoction (CCD) in treating severehepatopathy and its influence on serum endotoxin(ET) and tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-α), in order toexplore the possible mechanism of CCD in protecting liver cells and in preventing liver failure. Methods:Sixty patients suffering from hepatopathy were divided into the treated group and control group randomly,30 in each group. They were treated with comprehensive treatment, including hepatocyte growth-promo-ting factors, thymosin, Transmetil and albumin. CCD was given to the treated group additionally. Thetherapeutic effects were observed and the changes of some biochemical criteria, including alanine transami-nase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TB), albumin (ALB) as well as such pa-rameters as prothrombin activity (PTA), serum levels of ET and TNF-α were all detected respectively be-fore treatment and after treatment. Results: In the treated group, 8 patients was clinically cured after treat-ment, 11 were markedly alleviated, 7 improved and 4 remained unchanged, while in the control group, therespective numbers were 5, 8, 8 and 9. The total effective rate of the treated group was significantly betterthan that of the control group by(P＜0.05). ET and TNF-a levels in patients were significantly higherthan the normal range before treatment, and they were lowered after treatment. Comparison of the effectbetween the two groups showed significant difference ( P＜0.05 ) , with that in the treated group betterthan that in the control group. Conclusion: CCD decoction could reduce the production and releasing of ETand TNF-α in severe hepatopathy patients, which might be one of its therapeutic mechanisms.