Abstract： China is a high incidence area of esophageal cancer. Traditional Chinese medicine has conducted a lot of exploration on the prevention and treatment of esophageal cancer. The clinical symptoms of esophageal cancer belong to the category of dysphagia in Chinese medicine，which covers not only esophageal cancer，but also benign esophageal stricture， esophagitis and other diseases. As there is a world of difference in prognosis and outcome among them， the etiology， pathogenesis and treatment are also different. In this paper， the name of esophageal cancer in Chinese medicine was discussed， and the understanding of esophageal cancer of physicians in different generation was further analyzed， in the hope of making clear its pathogenesis，so as to establish the fundamental rule for the prevention and treatment of esophageal cancer.