Abstract
By using the power-exponential function method and the extended hyperbolic auxiliary equation method, we present the explicit solutions of the subsidiary elliptic-like equation. With the aid of the subsidiary elliptic-like equation and a simple transformation, we obtain the exact solutions of Hirota equation which include bright solitary wave, dark solitary wave, bell profile solitary wave solutions and Jacobian elliptic function solutions. Some of these solutions are found for the first time, which may be useful for depicting nonlinear physical phenomena. This approach can also be applied to solve the other nonlinear partial differential equations.