In our study, CXCL1 induced macrophages to differentiate into M2-like macrophages to promote the proliferation, and EMT of HCC cells; otherwise, blocking the CXCL1-CXCR2 axis with anti-CXCR2 antibody inhibited this effect by decreasing CXCL1 expression. Here, CXCR2 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.