Objective To investigate the effects of carbon tetrachloride ( CCl4 )-induced acute liver injury on brown adipose tissue at different time points and to evaluate the related mechanisms. Methods Eighteen 8-week-old C57BL/ 6 male mice were randomly divided into a control group, CCl4 2-week group, and CCl4 4-week group, with 6 rats in each group.CCl4 group was injected with CCl4 twice, and the control group was given the same dose of olive oil. Brown adipose tissue was then weighed, and HE staining was used to observe pathological changes in the liver and brown adipose tissue. Immunohistochemistry and real-time quantitative PCR were used to detect the expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) in brown adipose tissue. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to evaluate levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in serum. The Pearson method was used to test the relationship between Ucp1 mRNA levels and TNF-α content. Results Compared with the control group, the serum content of ALT and AST in the CCl4 2-week group were increased (P< 0. 01), the weight of brown adipose tissue in the CCl4 2-week group was decreased (P< 0. 05), the expression of UCP1 protein in brown adipose tissue in the CCl4 2-week group was decreased (P< 0. 05), the expression of Ucp1 mRNA in the CCl4 2-week group was decreased (P< 0. 05), and the serum content of TNF-α in the CCl4 2-week group was increased (P< 0. 001). Compared with the CCl4 2-week group, the serum content of ALT and AST in the CCl4 4-week group was decreased (P< 0. 05), the weight of brown adipose tissue in the CCl4 4-week group was increased (P< 0. 05), the expression of Ucp1 mRNA in the CCl4 4-week group was increased (P< 0. 01), and the serum content of TNF-α in the CCl4 4-week group was decreased (P < 0. 001). There was a significant negative correlation between Ucp1 mRNA levels and TNF-α content in the CCl4 2-week group and the CCl4 4-week group (r = -0. 950, P< 0. 01; r = -0. 859, P< 0. 05). Conclusions Acute liver injury can lead to the decrease of brown adipose tissue function and the decrease of body heat production, thus affecting the metabolic homeostasis. The mechanism may be related to increased TNF-α content.