Abstract: Esophageal cancer is one of the most common alimentary malignancy. Although drugs and radiation treatments for esophageal cancer are constantly improved, surgical resection is still recognized as the most effective treatment method at present. With the continuous development of esophageal surgical techniques, minimally invasive treatment of esophageal cancer surgery technology has been performed at home and abroad, for the purpose of reducing the complications or mortality and improving the postoperative quality of life. Minimally invasive surgical indications, surgical procedure selection, complications and prognosis compared with traditional surgery are reviewed in this article to explore the application and clinical significance of minimally invasive treatment in patients with esophageal carcinoma.