The tumor microenvironment is increasingly recognized as a significant factor in cancer. In this regard, a recent study showed telomere shortening in cancer‐associated stromal cells 18, 46. Here, we comprehensively investigated non‐tumor cells within their local milieu in HCC, that is, CAF/NTF, TIL/NTIL, and T‐BDEC/P‐BDEC pairs. We found significant telomere variation in CAFs, but not in TILs or T‐BDECs. It has been reported that telomere shortening in fibroblasts can lead to an altered pattern of secreted factors, such as increased production of pro‐inflammatory cytokines and matrix‐degrading proteases 47. Therefore, CAFs with shortened telomeres may boost the progression of HCC 24, relevant to our findings that shorter telomere length in CAFs predicted worse prognosis.