Abstract: Esophageal cancer is one of the most common malignancies in the world. Surgical treatment is the first choice for the treatment of esophageal cancer because it could radically resect the tumor and significantly improve the patients′ condition. Minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) was rapidly developed because of its advantages of minimal invasion, small volume of blood loss, slight pain, low complication rate and quick recovery of patients. The extent of lymphadectomy and postoperative survival rate of MIE were comparable to those of traditional thoracotomy. MIE has become the treatment of choice for benign esophageal diseases and early esophageal cancer in some medical centers. However, debate still exists regarding the role of MIE in the treatment of esophageal cancer, particularly given the limitations in the widespread implementation of this technically challenging operation. This review summarized the current status of the use of minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of esophageal cancer and some thoughts on the development of MIE were provoked.