ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the status of liver disease research in China.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Hepatology and gastroenterology journals in the Science Citation Index were searched and their impact factors were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>19 periodicals in this field were published in 6 countries. Among them 11 (61%) were published in the USA. Eleven of the 19 were full text embodied in the ScienceDirect (Elsevier), Blackwell and Wiley. The impact factor of the journal Gastroenterology was 13.092, the highest or the 19, and Hepatology, with an impact factor of 10.416, was in the second position. Of the 19 periodicals, 12 had an impact factor over 2.822. Articles published in those journals from 1001 through 2005 were written by mainland Chinese authors.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The 12 periodicals with an impact factor over 2 can be regarded as core periodicals in this field. The medical periodicals in China need to be further improved in order to reach top international standards.</p>