Recent studies demonstrated that dihydromyricetin (DHM) has prominent therapeutic effects on liver injury and liver cancer. By summarizing the current preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies, the present review examines the preventive and therapeutic effects of DHM in liver disorders as well as its potential mechanisms. Briefly, in both chemical- and alcohol-induced liver injury models, DHM ameliorates hepatocyte necrosis and steatosis while promoting liver regeneration. In addition, DHM can alleviate NAFLD via regulating lipid/glucose metabolism, probably due to its anti-inflammatory or sirtuins-dependent mechanisms. Furthermore, DHM treatment inhibits proliferation, induces apoptosis and autophagy, regulates redox balance in the liver cancer cells, thus exhibiting remarkable anti-cancer effects. With the accumulating interests in utilizing natural products to target common diseases, our work aims to improve the understanding of DHM acting as a novel treatment for liver diseases and to accelerate its translation.