Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are powerful sources for cell therapy in regenerative medicine due to their capacity for self-renewal, multilineage differentiation, and immune modulation. Placenta-derived stem cells (PDSCs) have been recently suggested as alternative sources of stem cells. However, comparative studies to decide the most suitable cells for cell-based therapeutics are largely lacking. This study attempted to compare the potential of PDSCs in the treatment of mice with acute hepatic failure (ALF). We isolated four types of PDSCs, including the fetus-derived chorionic villi MSCs (CV-MSCs), Wharton's jelly umbilical cord MSCs (WJ-MSCs) and amnion MSCs (AE-MSCs), and the maternally derived decidua basalis MSCs (DB-MSCs). We found that all PDSCs showed similar biological properties, including morphology, specific surface antigen, proliferation, and multipotent differentiation potential (osteogenesis, adipogenesis and chondrogenesis). In addition, they also exhibited similar therapeutic potential in rescuing acetaminophen-induced ALF in mice, regardless of their origins. However, the fetus-derived CV-MSCs and WJ-MSCs exhibited the highest proliferative potential and the best improvement of survival rate in mice with ALF. Taken together, our data suggest that PDSCs, particularly CV-MSCs and WJ-MSCs, may have greater potential to be banked for clinical use.