The objective was the morphological characterization of the liver of Phrynops geoffroanus, popularly known as the freshwater turtle (cágado-de-barbicha in Portuguese), using six specimens from the Uberabinha River in Uberlândia, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The analyses involved anatomical and histological methods, and the microscopic aspects were described after the histological preparation. Fragments of liver were fixed in 10% formalin and absolute alcohol, embedded in paraffin, sectioned into four μm thick slices, and stained with HE, PAS, Gomori Trichrome and Reticulin. The liver of P. geoffroanus is a large light brown organ speckled with black spots, which represent melanin deposits. It is divided into four lobes, called the right lateral, right medial, left lateral and left medial lobes. The hepatocytes in longitudinal section are similar to double cords surrounded by winding sinusoidal capillaries, polyhedral shaped, of varying sizes, with a vacuolized aspect and with peripherally displaced nuclei. The cytoplasm is little eosinophilic and highly reactive to PAS, suggesting abundant intracytoplasmatic glycogen. The hepatic parenchyma is supported by delicate reticular fibers surrounding hepatocytes and sinusoids. Large quantities of melanomacrophages are present in the parenchyma and perisinusoidal spaces, mainly close to the portal spaces.