The revelation that gut microbes are associated with the pathogenesis of human diseases such as obesity, colon cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and liver-related diseases has resulted in the role of gut microbes becoming a novel research topic in basic and clinical science. Recently, emphasis has been placed on the role of gut microbes in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its progressive form, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Researchers have suggested that inflammasome deficiency-changed dysbiosis is associated with exacerbating NAFLD/NASH progression. This particular study also showed a direct "gut-liver axis" regulated by modulation of gut microbiota. This paper (Nature 2012;482: 179-185) was summarized herein and the potential clinical applications were discussed.