Abstract: Esophageal cancer is a highly lethal and aggressive gastrointestinal cancer nationwide. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma（SCC） is endemic in Asian countries， while adenocarcinoma is more common in western countries. In China， SCC accounted for 95％ of esophageal carcinoma. Surgery is the main treatment method for esophageal cancer. However， the results of surgery alone have been dissatisfactory， with survival rates of approximately 30％ at 5 years. So， new combinations of different protocols have been investigated by many trials. According to accurate preoperative staging， stage Ⅰ and ⅡA esophageal cancer is suitable for direct surgery， while stage ⅡB and Ⅲ should be primarily treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy or chemoradiation followed by surgery. Adjuvant treatment maybe helpful to improve the outcomes of patients， but it still needs further studies. Furthermore， molecular targeted therapy and predictors for neoadjuvant treatment are increasingly becoming research hotspots of esophageal cancer.