Abstract: Objective To investigate the different roles of autophagy in lesioned livers and provide references for the study of liver lesions. Methods By reviewing a large amount of related literature published at home and abroad, the different roles of autophagy in lesioned livers were summarized, involving liver injury, liver fibrosis and liver cancer. Results During the development of hepatitis, moderate autophagy could maintain the dynamics of normal tissues of the liver by reducing hepatocyte pyroptosis and lipid droplet aggregation. Autophagy was found to exert a bidirectional regulatory effect in viral hepatitis. In liver fibrosis, autophagy could inhibit or promote the development of fibrosis through different mechanisms of action. However, autophagy played different roles in different stages of liver cancer. Conclusion In diseased livers, autophagy is involved in the occurrence and development of a variety of diseases so that studies on autophagy are of great significance for the study of liver diseases.

Key words: Autophagy, Liver Damage, Hepatic Fibrosis, Hepatocarcinoma, Mechanism of Action, Alcohol-related Liver Disease