Abstract： Objective To investigate the expression of heat shock protein 27(HSP27)in esophageal squamous carcinoma,mucosa adjacent to carcinoma and normal esophageal mucosa,and its relationship with the carcinogenesis of esophageal carcinoma.Methods The expression of HSP27 was observed in 86 specimens from esophageal squamous carcinoma,86 from mucosa adjacent to carcinoma and 75 from normal esophageal mucosa by immunohistochemistry.Results The expression of HSP27 in esophageal squamous carcinomas was higher than those in mucosa adjacent to carcinoma(P ＜ 0.05);the expression of HSP27 in mucosa adjacent to carcinoma was higher than those in normal esophageal mucosa(P ＜0.001).There was no significant difference in the expression of HSP27 in esophageal squamous carcinomas with different differentiation degree(P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Expression of HSP27 was associated with the carcinogenesis of esophageal squamous carcinoma.