The right lobe is much larger than the left; the proportion between them being as six to one.

It occupies the right hypochondrium; on its posterior surface by the ligamentum venosum for the cranial (upper) half, and by the ligamentum teres hepatis (a.k.a. Round ligament of liver) for the caudal (under) half. The ligamentum teres hepatis turns around the inferior marging of the liver to come out ventral in the falciform ligament.

The right lobe is functionally separated from the left lobe by the middle hepatic vein. A common misconception is that the falciform ligament separates the two lobes. However, from a functional perspective (one that takes the arterial, portal venous, and systemic venous anatomy into account) the falciform ligament separates the medial and lateral segments of the left hepatic lobe.

The right lobe is of a somewhat quadrilateral form. Its under and posterior surfaces being marked by three fossae: the fossa for the portal vein, the fossa for the gall-bladder and the fossae for the inferior vena cava. These separate the right lobe in two smaller lobes on its left posterior part: the quadrate lobe and the caudate lobe.