BACKGROUND The classical dynamin family consists of dynamin 1, 2, and 3, which have different expression levels in different tissues to regulate cell membrane fission and endocytosis. Recent studies have reported increased expression of dynamins in human cancer, but their expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains to be determined. This study aimed to investigate the expression of dynamin 1, 2, and 3 in tissue sections of human HCC using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. MATERIAL AND METHODS The expression of dynamin 1, 2, and 3 were investigated in 192 cases of HCC and 14 paired samples of HCC and adjacent normal liver tissue by qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. The clinical significance of dynamin 1, 2, and 3 were determined by correlating their expression levels with patient clinicopathological factors and survival rates. Independent prognostic factors were determined using the Cox regression hazard model. RESULTS In tissue samples from 192 patients with HCC, the expression of dynamin 1, 2, and 3 were upregulated in 41.15%, 29.69%, and 8.33% of cases, respectively. Dynamin 1 had a significantly increased mRNA expression level in HCC compared with adjacent normal liver tissues and was significantly correlated with alpha fetoprotein (AFP) levels, T stage, and TNM stage. Only dynamin 1 expression was correlated with the reduced overall survival (OS), and was identified as an independent prognostic biomarker of human HCC. CONCLUSIONS Upregulation of dynamin 1 at the protein and mRNA level was an independent prognostic biomarker of reduced OS in patients with HCC.