Positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG) is useful in detecting distant metastases from a variety of malignancies. However, its efficiency in detecting distant metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of 18F-FDG PET for the detection of extrahepatic metastases from HCC.