For many years, surgery has been the preferred treatment for esophageal cancer, but the long-term efficacy has not been significantly improved in recent years. Currently, most of the treatment targets faced by hospitals are middle- and late-stage patients, so it is difficult to achieve satisfactory therapeutic effects with single surgical treatment. In the course of long-term clinical practice, it has been further realized that the rational use of effective methods such as surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and biological therapy according to the principles of evidence-based medicine, and the comprehensive treatment mainly based on surgery, has a positive effect on improving the efficacy of localized mid- to late-stage esophageal cancer patients, and has become a useful strategy aiming at improving the prognosis.