11Beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11 beta HSD1), converting glucocorticoids from hormonally inactive cortisone to active cortisol, plays an essential role in glucose homeostasis. Accumulating evidence suggests that enhanced glycolytic activity is closely associated with postoperative recurrence and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Whether 11 beta HSD1 contributes to HCC metastasis and recurrence remains unclear. Here we found that expression of 11 beta HSD1 in human HCC (310 pairs) was frequently decreased compared to the adjacent non-neoplastic liver tissues (ANT), which correlated well with the intrahepatic-metastatic index, serum glycemia, and other malignant clinicopathological characteristics of HCC and predicted poor prognosis. Knockdown of 11 beta HSD1 in BEL-7402 cells drastically reduced the pH of culture medium and induced cell death. Meanwhile, overexpression of 11 beta HSD1 in SMMC-7721 HCC cells resulted in repression of cell migration, invasion, angiogenesis, and proliferation in vitro. When transferred into BALB/c nude mice, 11 beta HSD1 overexpression resulted in decreased intrahepatic metastasis, angiogenesis, and tumor size. F-18-2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose accumulation assay measured by positron emission tomography elucidated that 11 beta HSD1 reduced glucose uptake and glycolysis in SMMC-7721 cells in vitro, and intrahepatic metastasis foci and subcutaneous tumor growth in vivo. We showed that 11 beta HSD1 repressed cell metastasis, angiogenesis and proliferation of HCC by causing disruption of glycolysis via the HIF-1 alpha and c-MYC pathways. In conclusion, 11 beta HSD1 inhibits the intrahepatic metastasis of HCC via restriction of tumor glycolysis activity and may serve as a prognostic biomarker for patients.