Whether the safety and efficacy of hepatic resection differ between patients whose hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is related to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or has other aetiologies is unknown. A systematic review was performed to explore potential differences between such conditions.PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched for relevant studies that reported hazard ratios (HRs) for overall and recurrence-free survival between patients with NAFLD-related HCC or HCC of other aetiologies.The meta-analysis involved 17 retrospective studies involving 2470 patients (21.5 per cent) with NAFLD-related HCC and 9007 (78.5 per cent) with HCC of other aetiologies. Patients with NAFLD-related HCC were older and had higher body mass index (BMI), but were less likely to have cirrhosis (50.4 per cent versus 64.0 per cent, P < 0.001). The two groups suffered similar rates of perioperative complications and mortality. Patients with NAFLD-related HCC had slightly higher overall survival (HR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.75 to 1.02) and recurrence-free survival (HR 0.93, 95 per cent c.i. 0.84 to 1.02) than those with HCC of other aetiologies. In the various subgroup analyses, the only significant finding was that Asian patients with NAFLD-related HCC had significantly better overall survival (HR 0.82, 95 per cent c.i. 0.71 to 0.95) and recurrence-free survival (HR 0.88, 95 per cent c.i. 0.79 to 0.98) than Asian patients with HCC of other aetiologies.The available evidence suggests that patients with NAFLD-related HCC have similar perioperative complications and mortality, but potentially longer overall and recurrence-free survival, compared with those with HCC of other aetiologies. Tailored surveillance strategies should be developed for patients with NAFLD without cirrhosis.© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of BJS Society Ltd.