['Absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) and the recovery of ALC after treatment have been identified as a prognostic biomarker for several malignancies. In this study, we aimed to investigate the prognostic role of peritransplant ALC and ALC recovery after liver transplantation (LT) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.', 'A total of 269 HCC patients undergoing LT were enrolled in our study. Clinicopathological data were retrospectively collected and reviewed. Peritransplant ALC and the change of ALC (2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months post-LT) were carefully monitored. All potential risk factors were analyzed by univariate and multivariate cox regression analysis.', 'Over a mean follow-up of 35.9 months, 120 recurrences and 89 deaths were recorded. In the multivariate analysis, HCC with ALC no recovery at 1 month after LT (P\u2009<\u20090.001), high pretransplant alpha fetoprotein (P\u2009=\u20090.010), total tumor size >\u20098\u2009cm (P\u2009=\u20090.003), and beyond Milan criteria (P\u2009<\u20090.001) were four independent risk factors for HCC recurrence. For overall survival (OS) after LT, ALC no recovery at 1 month after LT (P\u2009=\u20090.003), total tumor size >\u20098\u2009cm (P\u2009=\u20090.011), pretransplant albumin <\u20092.8\u2009g/dL (P\u2009=\u20090.049), model of end-stage liver disease score >\u200915 (P\u2009=\u20090.017), and beyond Milan criteria (P\u2009=\u20090.001) were significantly related to poor OS. When subgroup analyses were performed according to the Milan criteria, the results showed that the recovery of ALC at 1 month after LT still indicated longer recurrence-free survival (RFS) (P\u2009<\u20090.001) and OS (P\u2009=\u20090.005) beyond Milan criteria as well as RFS (P\u2009<\u20090.001) within Milan criteria, but not OS (P\u2009=\u20090.157) within Milan criteria.'] Does absolute lymphocyte count recovery at 1 month after transplantation predict favorable outcomes of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma?