Patients with liver failure have severe condition，high short-term mortality and poor prognosis，and the prognostic factors and models are research hotspots at home and abroad. In addition to liver transplantation，the prognosis of patients with liver failure depends on the ability of liver regeneration and repair，but there is little attention on the indicators and models of liver regeneration. In recent years，our research group has reported that serum alpha-fetoprotein （AFP） can be used as a reliable serum marker for liver regeneration after excluding liver cancer and other causes，and has an important prognostic effect on patients with liver failure. This paper summarized the current research status of liver regeneration in severe hepatitis，especially in liver failure，and the prognostic function of AFP as a liver regeneration factor in patients with severe hepatitis such as liver failure，which could improve the ability of clinicians to judge the prognosis of patients with liver failure，and formulate reasonable diagnosis and treatment plans on this basis，and improve the clinical diagnosis and treatment ability of liver failure.