Various studies examined the relationship between p53 expression with the clinical outcome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but yielded conflicting results. Electronic databases updated to July 2013 were searched to find relevant studies. A meta-analysis was conducted with eligible studies which quantitatively evaluated the relationship between p53 expression and survival of patients with HCC. Survival data were aggregated and quantitatively analyzed. We performed a meta-analysis of 24 studies that evaluated the correlation between p53 expression and survival in patients with HCC. Combined hazard ratios suggested that p53 expression had an unfavorable impact on overall survival (OS) (HR (hazard ratio) = 1.55, 95 % CI (confidence interval) 1.36-1.74) and disease-free survival (DFS) (HR = 1.54, 95 % CI 1.21-1.88) in patients with HCC. No significant heterogeneity was observed among 20 studies for OS (P = 0.786) and among 11 studies for DFS (P = 0.698). P53 expression indicates a poor prognosis for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.