Objective To observe the effect of recombinant interleukin (IL)-22 on hepatic fibrosis mice by inhibiting the expression of inflammatory factors. Methods Sixteen 6-week-old male BABL/c mice were selected and intraperitoneally injected with 20% carbon tetrachloride for modeling, twice a week. At the 8th week after modeling, the mice were randomly divided into a recombinant IL-22 group (n=8) and a control group (n=8). Mice in the recombinant IL-22 group and the control group were intraperitoneally injected with 0.3 μg/g recombinant IL-22 and epuivoluminal 0.5% BSA (phosphate buffered salina as solvent, pH 7.0) once a day, respectively, until the mice were euthanized at the 10th week. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Masson staining were used to observe the pathological changes of liver in the two groups of mice, and the degree of hepatic fibrosis was evaluated according to Ishak scoring system. The expressions of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and IL-22 in liver tissue were detected by streptavidin-perosidas. Flow cytometer was used to detect the changes of Th22 cells number in spleen tissue of two groups. The expressions of IL-22R1, IL-10R2, IL-22, IL-17A, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‑α mRNA in liver tissue were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative‑PCR, and the expression levels of IL-22, IL-17A, IL-6 and TNF-α protein in plasma were detected by ELISA. Results (1) The results of HE and Masson staining showed that the degrees of inflammation, necrosis and fibrosis in the liver tissue of the recombinant IL-22 group mice were significantly less than those in the control group, and the Ishak score was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). (2) In the recombinant IL-22 group, the protein expression level of α‑SMA in liver tissue, and the expression level of IL-22 in liver tissue and plasma were significantly lower than those in control group (all P<0.05). (3) The percentage of Th22 cells in spleen tissue and the mRNA expression levels of IL-22, IL-22R1 and IL-10R2 in liver tissue of the recombinant IL-22 group mice were lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). (4) The mRNA expression levels of IL-17A, IL-6 and TNF-α in liver tissue and the protein expression levels of IL-22, IL-17A, IL-6 and TNF-α in plasma of the recombinant IL-22 group mice were lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). Conclusion Recombinant IL-22 can alleviate hepatic fibrosis, and its mechanism may be related to reducing the activity of hepatic stellate cells and down-regulating the levels of inflammatory factors.