Little is known about the expression or role of ADAMTS-1, -4 and -5 and their endogenous inhibitor TIMP3 in the liver in physiological and pathological conditions. Their expression was, therefore, investigated in the hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines HepG2 and HuH-7 using qRT-PCR and western blotting, and their cellular localisation by immunocytochemistry. Cytokine treatments were used to assess mRNA and protein modulation. ADAMTS-1, -4, -5 and TIMP3 mRNA and protein were detected in both HepG2 and HuH-7 cells. IL-1β and IL-6 treatments significantly modulated ADAMTS-1 mRNA expression and IL-1β treatment ADAMTS-4 mRNA expression in HepG2 cells. Modulations of mRNA by ≥ 5-fold did not translate to increased protein expression. This study showed that ADAMTS-1, -4, -5 and TIMP3 were expressed at differential levels in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. The pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, TNF-α or IL-6 induced changes in mRNA expression, although these did not translate to the protein level.