Objective To verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the modified fast-track surgery (FTS) in the perioperative period of open liver resection. Methods A prospective randomized controlled trial was carried out in 188 consecutive patients undergoing open liver resection between March and December 2014 in the Department of Liver Surgery of West China Hospital. The modified fast recovery procedure and standard rehabilitation procedure were compared in terms of length of hospital stay after operation, hospitalization cost, complications and readmission rate. Results A total of 188 consecutive patients were enrolled in the trial. The analysis included 87 patients in the modified fast recovery group and 89 in the standard rehabilitation group. Compared with the standard rehabilitation group, the modified fast recovery group had a shorter length of hospital stay [(5.70±1.47)vs. (7.26±1.96) days] and a lower cost [(42.7±6.7)vs. (47.3±12.5) thousand yuan], and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). There were 20 complication cases in the modified group and 39 in the standard group with significant difference (P=0.003). There was no significant difference in the rate of readmission between the two groups (P=1.000). Compared with the standard group, patients in the modified group had less pain 8 hours, the 1st and 2nd days after surgery, better postoperative activities of daily living, more initiative cough times and off-bed activity times, longer duration of movement, and earlier bowel recovery and exhausting, and all the above differences were significantly different (P<0.05). Stepwise regression analysis showed that postoperative complications and bowel recovery and exhausting time were independent related factors for postoperative hospital stay (P<0.001). Conclusions Multimodal analgesia-based fast recovery procedure is feasible and effective in the perioperative period of partial hepatectomy. It can shorten the time of hospitalization and reduce the cost of hospitalization.