We examined hepatocellular carcinoma mortality in relation to coffee consumption and anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody seropositivity in a nested case-control study involving 96 cases. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for daily coffee drinkers vs non-drinkers were 0.49 (0.25-0.96), 0.31 (0.11-0.85), and 0.75 (0.29-1.92) in all cases, in HCV-positive and in HCV-negative individuals, respectively.