OBJECTIVE: To detect the expressions of miR-122 and miR-224 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by real-time fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR and investigate the significance of miRNAs in early diagnosis of HCC. METHOD: 2(-Delta Delta CT) method was used for quantitative analysis of the expression pattern of miR-122 and miR-224 in 35 HCC and adjacent normal tissues. All the quantitative results were confirmed by Northern blotting. RESULTS: Compared with adjacent normal tissues, the HCC tissues showed significant miR-122 down-regulation (P