A foreign body in the esophagus is a clinical emergency. Failure to remove the foreign body in a timely manner not only increases the patient’s pain, but also leads to infection of the esophageal wall due to the prolonged stay of the foreign body, and even causes bleeding from ruptured large blood vessels. Therefore, it is especially important to remove the foreign body in time. Esophageal foreign bodies are mainly detected and removed by esophagoscopy, and imaging is generally required to determine the presence or absence of foreign bodies and their location before the examination and removal procedure. Patients are generally required to fast for 4-6 hours to avoid reflux of gastric contents back into the esophagus during surgery, and to avoid life-threatening aspiration of food into the respiratory tract that may cause asphyxia. The choice of surgical anesthesia can be based on the condition of the foreign body and the patient’s condition, using hypopharyngeal and esophageal surface anesthesia or general anesthesia with tracheal intubation. In conclusion, once a foreign body is diagnosed or highly suspected, preoperative preparation should be completed as soon as possible and the foreign body should be removed by esophagoscopy as soon as possible.