Surgery-based comprehensive treatment is primarily adopted for liver surgery-related diseases. Liver surgery is highly challenging, which involves complex anatomy and fine vascular anastomosis. How to reduce the amount of bleeding, improve the safety of surgery, simplify surgical procedures, reduce the incidence of complications and mortality rate have been the focus of research in the field of liver surgery. With the improvement of living standards, the requirements for medical quality have been elevated accordingly. The concepts of minimally invasive surgery, precision surgery and enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) have been integrated into the diagnosis and treatment of liver surgery to meet the requirements in the modern era. With the progress in science and technology, digital technologies represented by three-dimensional visualization technology have accelerated the development of intelligent, precise and minimally invasive surgery. In this article, recent changes in the concept and technical progress of liver surgery were reviewed.