Cirrhosis is highly prevalent among patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)−related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In HCC patients with cirrhosis, hepatic resection is technically more challenging and is associated with a higher risk of postoperative complications. Moreover, surgical trauma and postoperative complications may further adversely affect long−term prognosis. Compared with open liver resection (OLR), robotic liver resection (RLR) has theoretical minimally invasive advantages; however, systematic evidence remains lacking as to whether RLR can improve short−term postoperative outcomes as well as long−term prognosis in patients with cirrhosis. This study aimed to compare the short−term postoperative outcomes and recurrence and survival outcomes between RLR and OLR in patients with HBV−related HCC and cirrhosis. Patients with HBV−related HCC and cirrhosis who underwent their first R0 liver resection at our center between 2019 and 2021 were retrospectively enrolled. All patients underwent either RLR or OLR. Patients were grouped according to surgical approach, and propensity score matching (PSM) was performed. Short−term postoperative outcomes were compared between the two groups. Kaplan−Meier analysis and the Log−rank test were used to compare recurrence−free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) between the RLR and OLR groups. A total of 198 patients were included in this study, including 74 patients in the OLR group and 124 patients in the RLR group. After 1:2 PSM between the OLR and RLR groups, 50 patients in the OLR group and 82 patients in the RLR group were included in the matched cohort. Before PSM, compared with the OLR group, the RLR group had shorter operative time and postoperative length of stay, less intraoperative blood loss, a lower intraoperative transfusion rate, and lower incidences of overall postoperative complications, postoperative ascites, and Clavien−Dindo grade I–II complications (all P<0.05). After PSM, the RLR group still showed less intraoperative blood loss (100 mL vs. 200 mL, P = 0.001), a shorter postoperative length of stay (5.0 days vs. 9.5 days, P<0.001), and a lower incidence of postoperative ascites (4.88% vs. 18.00%, P = 0.031). Regarding long−term prognosis, no significant differences in RFS (P = 0.706) or OS (P = 0.624) were observed between the RLR and OLR groups after PSM. In patients with HBV−related HCC and cirrhosis, RLR was associated with less intraoperative blood loss, a shorter postoperative length of stay, and a lower incidence of postoperative ascites compared with OLR, while no significant differences were observed between the two approaches in postoperative recurrence or survival outcomes.