From 1975 to 1985, 60 patients with isolated hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer were treated by 17 right trisegmentectomies, five left trisegmentectomies, 20 right lobectomies, seven left lobectomies, eight left lateral segmentectomies, and three nonanatomic wedge resections. The 1-month operative mortality rate was 0%. One- to 5-year actuarial survival rates of the 60 patients were 95%, 72%, 53%, 45%, and 45%, respectively. The survival rate after liver resection was the same when solitary lesions were compared with multiple lesions. However, none of the seven patients with four or more lesions survived 3 years. The interval after colorectal resection did not influence the survival rate after liver resection, and survival rates did not differ statistically when synchronous metastases were compared with metachronous tumors. A significant survival advantage of patients with Dukes' B primary lesions was noted when compared with Dukes' C and D lesions. The pattern of tumor recurrence after liver resection appeared to be systemic rather than hepatic. The patients who received systemic chemotherapy before clinical evidence of tumor recurrence after liver resection survived longer than those who did not.