The present study evaluated the effect of combining inhibitors (17-aaG) of heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) and autophagy (3-Ma) on apoptosis using an incomplete thermal ablation animal model. a total of 28 orthotopic mice with hepatocellular carcinoma were randomly divided into 4 groups to receive different drug interventions. Following palliative laser ablation, changes in autophagy, apoptosis and akt/mTor expression levels were assessed in tumors. compared with the controls, the 17-AAG-treated mice exhibited significantly decreased expression levels of phosphorylated (p)-akt and p-mTor with enhanced autophagy and apoptosis; no marked increases in the expression levels of p-akt and p-mTor were observed in the 3-MA-treated mice, with no significant changes in autophagy; however, apoptosis was enhanced. no significant decreases in p-Akt and p-mTOR or any increase in autophagy were observed in the mice receiving a combination of 17-aaG and 3-Ma, but they did exhibit a marked increase in apoptosis. compared with 17-aaG alone, the combination of 17-aaG and 3-Ma resulted in a marked increase in apoptosis without enhanced autophagy. in the incomplete ablation model, the effects of autophagy and apoptosis are antagonistic. The combined use of 17-AAG and 3-MA can significantly promote apoptosis and is worthy of further study.