Abstract: Objective To investigate the impact of preoperative smoking on survival of the patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods Based on the questionnaire, telephone follow-up and hospital pathological records, t-test and Spearman correlation analysis were used to analyze the relationship between smoking and ESCC survival. Kaplan-Meier analysis, Log rank test and Cox regression analysis were applied to analyze the independent risk factors for survival. Results The mean onset age of smoking patients was signifi cantly higher than that of non-smoking patients (P=0.02). The onset age of ESCC was positively correlated with the age of initial smoking (r=0.474,P＜0.001). The survival time of non-smoking patients was apparently longer than that of smoking patients (P＜0.001). However, there was no difference in male patients no matter smoking status (P=0.245). Moreover, the survival time in non-smoking female patients was signifi cantly longer,compared to non-smoking male (P＜0.001). Cox regression analysis showed that preoperative smoking was not the independent factors for ESCC survival. Conclusion The onset age of ESCC patients was highly correlated with the age of initial smoking and preoperative smoking had no impact on the prognosis of ESCC.