Abstract: Objective To study the short-term curative effect,survival rate and adverse reactions in patients with esophageal cancer after radiotherapy combined with nimotuzumab. Methods The clinical data about 34 patients with pathology-confirmed esophageal squamous cancer admitted to our hospital from 2009 to 2012 were retrospectively analyzed.The patients were divided into radical radiotherapy group(n=24) and postoperative radiotherapy group(n=10).The patients received 3DCRT or IMRT at the dose of 6070 Gy,5 times a week for 30-35 times.Nimotuzumab was given by intravenous drip at the dose of 200 mg,once a week before radiotherapy.Radio-reactions of normal tissues were assessed according to the RTOG/EORTC criteria. Results Of the 24 patients in radical radiotherapy group,13 survived 1 year and 5 survived 2 years with a mean survival time of 15 months.Short-term effect assessment showed that the curative,partial and no effect were achieved in 8,10 and 6 out of the 24 patients,respectively,with mean survival time of 38,15 and 9 months(χ²=9.55,P=0.008).Of the 10 patients in postoperative radiotherapy group,6 survived 1 year and 3 survived 2 years with mean survival time of 37 months.No adverse reactions,such as allergic reaction,skin rush and diarrhea occurred after radiotherapy combined with nimotuzumab. Conclusion Radiotherapy combined with nimotuzumab is safe and effective modality for esophageal cancer.