Abstract: Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer in the world and is the sixth leading cause of cancer-related death. This disease has a poor prognosis and does serious harm to human health. China has the largest number of newly reported cases of esophageal cancer in the world. The incidence of squamous cell carcinoma in many western countries showed a downward trend since the 1970s. However, the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma has increased rapidly and eventually become the fastest-grow -ing malignant tumor in the world. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma remains the most common esophageal cancer in China and ac -counts for more than 90% of all the esophageal cancer cases in the country. The incidence trend of esophageal cancer significantly dif-fers across various cancer pathological types and geographical regions. This trend offers a helpful reference for developing a preven -tion and control strategy and understanding the incidence level and trend of esophageal cancer.