Abstract: Objective: To investigate the influence of the number of lymph node metastases on patient survival andUICC-TNM classification of esophagus cancer. Methods: The clinical and pathological data from 1,146 patients who hadundergone resection of squamous-cell cancer of the esophagus were analyzed retrospectively. Kaplan-Meier method wasapplied to evaluate the patient survival. According to the number of lymph node metastases(1 and ≥2 positive node), TNMclassification of stageⅡ and stage Ⅲ was modified: new stage Ⅱa (T₂N₀M₀ and T₃N₀M₀), stage Ⅱb (T₁N₁M₀ and T₂N₁₍₁₎M₀),stage Ⅲa(T₂N₁₍₂₎M₀ and T₃N₁₍₁₎M₀) and stage Ⅲb(T₃N₁₍₂₎M₀ and T₄N-M₀). Results: Lymph node metastases were found in 380of those 1,146 esophageal cancer patients (33.16%). In those 4,270 lymph nodes dissected, metastases were found in 807(18.9%). The 5-year survival rates of the patients with 0, 1 and ≥2 positive nodes were 59.79%, 33.38% and 9.35%, re-spectively. There was a statistical difference among these three groups. The 5-year survival rates of the patients in stage T₂N₁M₀ and stage T₃N₁M₀ were significantly higher in one node involved groups than in two or more nodes involved groups(41.49% vs. 24.12% and 31.16% vs. 6.77%, P<0.001). The 5-year survival rates of the patients in modified stage Ⅱa, Ⅱb, Ⅲa and Ⅲb were 57.06%, 42.15%, 28.57% and 8.52%, respectively, with a significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusion: The number of positive lymph nodes significantly influences the survival of patients with esophageal cancer. Thethree grade classification (0, 1, ≥2 positive nodes) can well suggest the relationship between the numbers of lymph nodemetastasis and the patient survival. The modified TNM-classification based on the numbers of lymph node metastasis canbetter reflect the prognosis of esophageal cancer patients after surgery.