Liver cancer, specifically hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is a malignant neoplasm of the digestive system, characterized by exceptionally high morbidity and mortality rates on a global scale. Early detection and diagnosis are critical measures for enhancing the prognosis of patients diagnosed with HCC. An improved prognosis is significantly reliant on the timely diagnosis of the disease and effective therapeutic monitoring. Activatable fluorescent probes are essential for detecting and imaging biomarkers related to disease diagnosis and in vivo imaging. This paper reviews the fluorescent probes developed over the past five years for the detection and imaging of HCC. This noninvasive optical imaging modality demonstrates significant promise in targeting pathological sites and is anticipated to facilitate potential clinical translation.