Objective To explore the safety and efficacy of lenvatinib in combination with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) antibody in the treatment of recurrent liver cancer. Method The clinical data of 22 patients with unresectable recurrent liver cancer admitted to Department of Liver Surgery and Liver Transplantation Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and received the conversion therapy of lenvatinib+TACE+PD-1 antibody between January 2019 and January 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Results All 22 patients experienced some degree of adverse events, with a grade 3 adverse event rate of 18.2% (4/22) and no grade 4 or higher adverse events. At 4 months of treatment, according to the modified response evaluation criteria solid tumors (mRECIST), 2 cases were in complete response (CR), 5 cases were in partial response (PR), and 6 cases were in stable disease (SD), 9 cases were in progressive disease (PD), and the objective response (CR+PR) rate (ORR) was 31.8% (7/22). At the last follow-up, there was 1 case in CR, 5 cases in PR, 1 case in SD, and 15 cases in PD, with an ORR of 27.3% (6/22). The 1-year overall survival (OS) rate was 83.8% and the 1-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate was 38.2%. In the subgroup analysis, the 1-year OS rate for patients with recurrent liver cancer with intrahepatic lesions (n=16) only was 86.2% [95%CI (77.1%, 95.3%)], the 1-year PFS rate was 46.9% [95%CI (34.0%, 59.8%)], and the ORR based on mRECIST criteria was 43.8% (7/16). Patients with intrahepatic combined with extrahepatic lesions (n=6) had a 1-year OS rate of 75.0% [95%CI (53.3%, 96.7%)] and a 1-year PFS rate of 16.7% [95%CI (15.0%, 31.9%)], and the ORR based on mRECIST criteria was 0% (0/6). There were no significant differences in OS (P=0.864) and PFS (P=0.125) between the two subgroups. The ORR of intrahepatic combined with extrahepatic lesions group was worse compared to the intrahepatic lesion group (P=0.049). Conclusion Lenvatinib in combination with TACE and PD-1 antibody is safe and effective in the treatment of unresectable recurrent liver cancer, but there are still many issues that deserve further exploration.