Malignant hepatic lesions are commonly encountered in clinical practice, and they often pose a diagnostic dilemma for the reviewing radiologist. With the improvement in screening techniques, today we can identify hepatic lesions at much earlier stages, which consequently has increased the difficulty in the categorisation of these masses. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignancy involving the liver. Knowledge of the key steps in hepatocarcinogenesis and their imaging counterparts is essential to differentiate dysplastic nodules from frank malignancies. Moreover, with advances in molecular subtyping for HCCs, additional imaging findings are constantly being recognised which could serve as markers to identify various HCC subtypes. The increasing use of locoregional therapies for these tumours, the interpretation of post-treatment changes and the recognition of recurrences are of utmost importance in their management and follow-up. The imaging appearances of other common and uncommon hepatic malignancies have also been discussed, along with a broad overview of the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS).