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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a multifactiorial disease, progressively becoming a global health problem due to an increase in the prevalence of both obesity and type 2 diabetes, which are closely interrelated with the patophisiology of NAFLD. A large amount of evidence has shown a potential of noumerous therapeutic options for this disease. However, further research is required in order to elucidate their hepatoprotective effects. Epicatechin, a polyphenol usually found in cocoa beans, has demonstrated hepatoprotective effects in previous studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the hepatoprotective effect of epicatechin in an in vitro model of NAFLD. Methods: NAFLD cell culture model was established by incubating HepG2 hepatocytes with 1-2 mM oleic acid for 24 hours. The cells were pretreated with 1050 μM solutions of epicatechin to assess its potential hepatoprotective effect. Colorimetric MTS assay was used to determine the metabolic viability of the cells. In the oleic acid-induced NAFLD cell culture model, metabolic viability of HepG2 cells after 24-hour incubation was significantly decreased, compared to the cells pretreated with epicatechin where the metabolic viability was increased. These results suggest that epicatechin exerts significant hepatoprotective effects which could potentially aid in amelioration of hepatic steatosis in NAFLD and other diseases.