Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a global health challenge. Novel treatment modalities are urgently needed to extend the overall survival of patients. The liver plays an immunomodulatory function due to its unique physiological structural characteristics. Therefore, following surgical resection and radiotherapy, immunotherapy regimens have shown great potential in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Adoptive cell immunotherapy is rapidly developing in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. In this review, we summarize the latest research on adoptive immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma. The focus is on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)‐T cells and T cell receptor (TCR) engineered T cells. Then tumour‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), natural killer (NK) cells, cytokine‐induced killer (CIK) cells, and macrophages are briefly discussed. The main overview of the application and challenges of adoptive immunotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma. It aims to provide the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the current status of HCC adoptive immunotherapy and offers some strategies. We hope to provide new ideas for the clinical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma has been a serious threat to human life and health, and there is an urgent need for new treatments to prolong the overall survival time of patients. The liver plays an immunomodulatory function due to its unique physiological structural characteristics; therefore, following surgical resection and radiotherapy, immunotherapeutic options have shown great potential in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in recent years, and adoptive cellular immunotherapy is developing rapidly in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. In this review we summarize the latest research on adoptive cell therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma, focusing on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells and T cell receptor-engineered (TCR) T cells, and then briefly discuss tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), natural killer (NK) cells and cytokine-induced killer cells (CIKs). The aim is to provide readers with a comprehensive understanding of the current status of HCC adoptive cellular immunotherapy and new therapeutic strategies being developed, in the hope of providing new ideas for the clinical management of hepatocellular carcinoma.