BACKGROUND:?Postoperative hepatic failure is a dreadful complication after major hepatectomy and carries high morbidity and mortality rates. In this study, we assessed the accuracy of the 50/50 criteria (bilirubin >2.9 mg/dL and international normalized ratio>1.7 on postoperative day 5) and the Mullen criteria (bilirubin peak>7 mg/dL on postoperative days 1-7) in predicting death from hepatic failure in patients undergoing right hepatectomy only. In addition, we identiifed prognostic factors linked to intra-hospital morbidity and mortality in these patients. METHODS:?One hundred seventy consecutive patients underwent major right hepatectomy at a tertiary medical center from 2000 to 2008. Nineteen (11.2%) patients suffered from liver cirrhosis. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify predictors of intra-hospital mortality, morbidity and death from hepatic failure. RESULTS:?The intra-hospital mortality was 6.5%(11/170). Of the six patients who died from hepatic failure, one was positive for the 50/50 criteria, but all six patients were positive for the Mullen criteria. Multivariate analysis showed that male gender, hepatitis C (HCV), hepatocellular carcinoma, postoperative bilirubin >7 mg/dL and ALT65 years, HCV, reoperation, andrenal failure were signiifcant predictors of overall intra-hospital mortality on multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS:?The Mullen criteria were more accurate than the 50/50 criteria in predicting death from hepatic failure in patients undergoing right hepatectomy. A bilirubin peak>7 mg/dL in the postoperative period, HCV positivity, hepatocellular carcinoma, and an ALT level