UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                              Washington, DC 20549


                                    FORM 8-K


                             CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT
                         TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE
                        SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


       Date of report (Date of earliest event reported) December 3, 2004


                         Premier Financial Bancorp, Inc.
            --------------------------------------------------------
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

                                    Kentucky
            --------------------------------------------------------
                 (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)

                  0-20908                     61-1206757
            --------------------------------------------------------
            (Commission File No.)   (IRS Employer Identification No.)


                2883 Fifth Avenue Huntington, West Virginia 25702
            --------------------------------------------------------
              (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

                                 (304) 525-1600
            --------------------------------------------------------
               Registrant's telephone number, including area code

                                 Not Applicable
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
          (Former name or former address, if changes since last report)

     Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to
simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions (see General Instruction A.2 below):

  |_|  Written communication pursant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act
       (17 CFR 230.425)

  |_|  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act
       (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

  |_|  Pre-commencement communications pursant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the
       Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

  |_|  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the
       Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))




                    INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN THE REPORT


Item 8.01.  Other Events

     On December 3, 2004, Premier Financial Bancorp, Inc. (Premier) issued a
news release announcing that it received regulatory approval to merge two of
its subsidiary banks, Citizens Deposit Bank & Trust (Citizens Deposit) in
Vanceburg, Kentucky and the Bank of Germantown in Germantown, Kentucky.  The
merger is scheduled to take effect on January 3, 2005.
     The full text of that press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1.


Item 9.01.  Financial Statements and Exhibits

    (c) Exhibit 99.1 - Press Release dated December 3, 2004.



     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                                  PREMIER FINANCIAL BANCORP, INC.
                                  -------------------------------
                                           (Registrant)


                                   /s/ Brien M. Chase
                                  -----------------------------------
Date: December 6, 2004            Brien M. Chase, Vice President
                                     and Chief Financial Officer





                                  EXHIBIT INDEX


    Exhibit Number                     Description
    --------------                     -------------------------------------
        99.1                           Press Release dated December 3, 2004,
                                        captioned "Citizens Deposit Bank &
                                        Trust Receives Approval to Merge With
                                        Bank of Germantown".