Abstract: OBJECTIVE To investigate prognosis in patients with early stage of hepatitis B liver failure after treatment of glucocorticoid and its correlation with the lymphocyte subsets. METHODS Sixty patients with early stage of hepatitis B liver failure were divided into two groups(control and treatment) voluntarily. The treatment group included 32 patients received glucocorticoid treatment and the control group involved 28 patiens did not. Differences in counts of lymphocyte subsets were evaluated by flow cytometry between two groups, the prognosis was also observed. RESULTS There were no statistically significant differences in CD3⁺CD4⁺T cell, CD3⁺CD8⁺T cell, CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio between the two groups before treatment. The CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio and CD3^-CD16⁺CD56⁺ cell count were increased significantly compared with the control group after treatment. CD3⁺CD4⁺ cell count in each group significantly increased after treatment. Meanwhile, CD3⁺CD8⁺ cell count in control group had the same result. No statistical differences were observed in two groups of treatment success rate (the treatment group 75%, control group 64.29%, Z=0.816, P=0.366). But on the stable rate after 10 days treatment, treatment group was 71.88% higher than that of the control group 46.43%(Z=4.029, P=0.044). Comparison of hospitalization in patients with successful treatment, the treatment group 35.00 d(29.00, 51.00) was significantly lower than that in the control group 50.50 d(38.25, 58.00) (Z=-2.241, P=0.025). CONCLUSION Application of glucocorticoids can quickly stabilize the condition in patients with early stage of hepatitis B liver failure, decrease the duration of hospitalization. It may indicate that patients with a good prognosis if the number of CD3⁺CD4⁺T lymphocyte and CD3^-CD16⁺CD56⁺ cells is increased, the ratio of CD4⁺/CD8⁺ is higher after treatment.