Objective: The aim of the study was to observe the transfection efficacy of hepatitis B virus envelope (HBVE) and evaluate its ability as a gene transfer vector for liver cancer cells. Methods: To obtain HBVE, the supematant fluid of HepG 2.2.15 cells was mixed with a PEG8000 solution for concentration and was inactivated by β-propiolactone. The acquired HBVE was used to pack plRES2-EGFP to test its package ability. Then, we examined its quantity and quality with ELISA,PCR, SDS-PAGE and electron microscopy. The pIRES2-EGFP was packed with HBVE and obtained the product HBVE-GFP.The plRES2-EGFP was packed with liposome and obtained the product liposome-GFP. HBVE-GFP and liposome-GFP were used to transfer HepG 2 cells to study the transfection efficiency. HBVE-GFP was used to transfer HepG 2, A549, HeLa and FB cells to study the targeting ability. The green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression was observed under a fluorescent mi-croscope. The rate of GFP positive calls was determined by flow cytometry. Results: 1. The acquired HBVE could retain the surface protein HBsAg + pre S1 + pre S2 and had no virus DNA. It had good package ability for plRES2-EGFP. 2. Transfection efficiency: The GFP could be observed in both the liposome group and HBVE group under the fluorescent microscope. But the HBVE group had a higher fluorescent intensity than liposome group. The transfection rate of liposome group was 49.97% ± 2.37% while the HBVE group was 70.65% ± 3.15% and the fluorescent intensity of the HBVE group was 3-4 times (P =0.000) for liposome group with the determination of flow cytometry. 3. Targeting ability: The GFP could be observed in the four groups under the fluorescent microscope. The HepG 2 group had the highest fluorescent intensity among the four groups.The transfection rate of HepG 2 group was 71.35% ± 0.03% which was highly expressed than other groups (P = 0.000) and the fluorescent intensity of the HepG 2 group was 2-3 times (P = 0.000) for the other 3 groups with the determination of flow cytometry. Conclusion: HBVE can be constructed successfully with the methods of PEG8000 and β-propiolactone from the supernatant fluid of HepG 2.2.15 calls. The HBVE can be a candidate gene transfer vector for liver cancer cells.