The authors report on a case of a solitary liver abscess due to Listeria monocytogenes in a 53-year-old diabetic white male and review all published cases of solitary listerial abscesses of the liver. L. monocytogenes is a rare cause of solitary liver abscess which occurs in elderly patients with diabetes mellitus. The clinical signs are variable and often mimic malignancy, with epigastric pain, night sweats and weight loss. Prevalent features are poor control of glycemia, temperature up to 38.5 degrees C and elevated alkaline phosphatase. Optimal treatment includes percutaneous drainage of the hepatic abscess and antibiotic therapy with an aminopenicillin or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Outcome of the reviewed patients was favourable with no mortality and no relapse of the disease.