Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary malignancy of the liver. Despite the multiple treatment options the recurrence of the disease is about 80 % and in advanced stages treatment options are limited. Understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis of HCC is the basis for improving the development of more effective therapies. In many cases HCC is preceded by cirrhosis. Both of these conditions result from changes in the expression levels of many genes, part of which are regulated by the hepatocyte transcriptional activator HNF1. The gen HNF1A is essential for maintaining liver function, since it regulates the expression of many genes involved in the processes of cell proliferation, angiogenesis, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, fucosylation, glycolysis, lipogenesis and gluconeogenesis. Decreased expression of HNF1A is associated with deregulation of these signaling pathways which leads to the hypothesis that it could be associated with the development and progression of HCC. In order to evaluate potential differences of HNF1A expression levels in tumor tissue and surrounding liver tissue which, in most cases represent cirrhosis, RNA was isolated from tissue samples of patients diagnosed with HCC and converted to cDNA by reverse transcription. The level of gene expression was determined by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction. The obtained data were analyzed in relation to information about the development and progression of the disease, available for patients included in this study. The results showed that there is no significant difference in the level of HNF1A expression in tumor tissue and surrounding tissue of the liver, suggesting that the change in HNF1A expression is not one of the key steps involved in development of HCC from precancerous tissue.