The mRNA differential display technique was performed to investigate the differences in gene expression in the liver tissues from Meishan and Large White pigs. One novel gene that was differentially expressed was identified through semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the cDNA complete sequence was then obtained using the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) method. The nucleotide sequence of the gene is not homologous to any of the known porcine genes. The sequence prediction analysis revealed that the open reading frame of this gene encoding a protein of 501 amino acids has high homology with the lipase, hepatic (LIPC) of seven species--cattle (82%), rhesus monkey (79%), chimpanzee (78%), rabbit (77%), human (78%), mouse (73%) and rat (72%)--so that it can be defined as the swine LIPC gene. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the swine LIPC gene has a closer genetic relationship with the LIPC of cattle. Tissue expression profile analysis indicated that the swine LIPC gene is also differentially expressed in other detected tissues from Meishan and Large White pigs. Our experiment suggested that the swine LIPC gene might play an important role in the superabundant fat deposition of Chinese pigs.