OBJECTIVE Often patients experience an unexpected early recurrence after hepatectomy for multinodular HCC. We conducted this retrospective study to observe the recurrence rate within 1 year after hepatectomy for oligonodular HCC (2 or 3 nodules) and investigate the risk factors for early recurrence. METHODS The study population consisted of 102 patients with 2 or 3 HCCs that received curative resection between January 2009 and December 2009. Clinicopathological data were collected and subjected to univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS Forty-three (42.2%) patients were diagnosed as with recurrence within 1 year after hepatectomy. According to univariate analysis, the risk factors for early recurrence were alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) >200 ng/mL, microvascular involvement and lack of complete tumor capsule; microvascular involvement was an independent predictive factor for early recurrence by multivariate analysis (HR, 4.02; 95% CI, 1.42-11.39, p=0.009). CONCLUSIONS There was a high rate of early recurrence for patients with oligonodular HCC (2 or 3 nodules) after hepatectomy. Microvascular involvement was an independent predictive factor for early recurrence, and adjuvant therapy, such as TACE, may be considered for those patients af