Abstract: Gramsci’s concept of “hegemony” is constructed upon his explicit definition of the relationship between civil society and the state. Through critical analysis, Althusser points out that Gramsci’s articulation of this relationship exhibits inconsistencies and even self-contradictions, resulting in his concept of “hegemony” carrying three mutually contradictory connotations across different contexts. This semantic slippage and conceptual ambiguity intensify the inherent tensions within Gramsci’s theoretical framework, causing his state theory—centered on “hegemony”—to substantially approach Hegel’s conception of the ethical state, thereby deviating from the core tenets of the Marxist theory of the state. Based on this, Althusser critiques Gramsci’s concept of “hegemony” along three key lines: the concept obscures the determining role of the economic base on the superstructure; it dissolves the specificity of state apparatuses; and it weakens the historical necessity of the dictatorship of the proletariat. While Althusser’s critique defends the scientificity of Marxism from an anti-historicist stance, his critique itself is not without its own theoretical limitations.