In theory, hepatic fibrosis should be a dynamic process with the potential for remodelling after the injury-provoking stimulus has been removed. Clinically, there has been an accumulation of a small number of cases, including hepatitis B e (HBe) antigen-positive chronic hepatitis B infection, in which cirrhosis regressed after successful treatment. We report a 42-year-old HBe antigen-negative Chinese man with detectable serum hepatitis B virus DNA and histologically established cirrhosis (Ludwig score 4) who, after 4 years of successful lamivudine therapy, was found to have regression of cirrhosis on repeat liver biopsy. The repeat biopsy revealed normal liver architecture with fibrosis confined to the portal tracts and short fibrosis septae extending into the lobule without bridging (Ludwig score 1-2). Although cirrhosis may take many years to develop, our experience suggests that successful treatment may reverse the process within a relatively short time.