Quality of life as an outcome variable has become an important measure in clinical research. Making a transition from a "biomedical model" of health to one that incorporates the social aspects of disease, clinicians and researchers dealing with chronic illness now incorporate quality-of-life measures into clinical practice and research. Chronic liver disease has shown a significant impact on the well-being of patients and contributes to the significant morbidity associated with these conditions. In this article, we review the recent research that has examined the impact of chronic liver disease on health-related quality of life.