The therapeutic significance of noncurative gastrectomy for gastric cancer with liver metastasis was evaluated and the histologic characteristics of such cancer examined. The mean postoperative survival time of patients with liver metastasis limited to one lobe or a few scattered metastases to both lobes without peritoneal metastasis or direct cancer invasion to other organs was significantly prolonged by noncurative gastrectomy. Differentiated adenocarcinoma, including papillary adenocarcinoma, and intravenous cancer invasion were found to be the histologic characteristics of gastric cancer with liver metastasis.