There are two broad types of liverwort, separated on the basis of their general structure. These are the leafy liverworts, and the thallose liverworts.

Leafy Liverworts

Liverworts of this group bear leaf-like structures, on a branched or unbranched stem, which most often lies horizontally with respect to the surface upon which the plant is growing. The leaves are generally only a single cell thick, and have no vascular system ("veins") and no protective surface layer ("cuticle") as is the case with "higher" plants. Often the leaves are divided into two or more lobes, and sometimes the lobes are folded to form various shapes.

The leaves are most often arranged in two rows, but in many species there is a third row of very much smaller leaves which are often only visible with a hand-lens or microscope. The arrangement of the two main rows of leaf is often a clue to identification: for example, in some species the front edge of each leaf overlaps the leaf in front of it; in others the front edge of each leaf lies beneath the leaf in front.

The majority (about 80% worldwide) of liverworts are of the leafy type.

An example of a leafy liverwort is Scapania paludicola.

Thallose Liverworts

In liverworts of this type the plant body has no stem-leaf structure, but consists instead of a "thallus" - a more-or-less flattened tissue, one to several cells thick. The thallus may be subdivided into lobes,and these may vary in width from 2-3mm to 1cm or more according to species. In some species there is a thickened midrib, and some may have pores (small holes) dotted about their surface.

An example of a thallose liverwort is Pallavicinia lyellii.