Abstract： Objective To investigate the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR),vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)and cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2)in esophageal carcinoma(EC)and their relationships with clinicopathologic features. Methods Using immunohistochemical methods,we assessed the expression levels of EGFR,VEGF and COX-2 in 94 surgically resected specimens from patients with EC and 30 normal contiguous esophageal mucosa specimens.We also explored the relationship between the histopathologic features and the expression levels of EGFR,VEGF and COX-2.Results The positive rates of EGFR,VEGF and COX-2 expressions were 13.3％(4/30),13.3％(4/30),3.3％(1/30)in normal mucosa and 69.2％(65/94),73.4％(69/94),84.0％(79/94)in EC respectively.There were significant differences between the two groups (P＜0.01). In EC,high EGFR,VEGF and COX-2 expressions had a positive correlation with tumor node metastases classification and lymph node metastasis(P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions EGFR,VEGF and COX-2 are overexpressed in EC.They might participate in tumorigenesis and progression. Over-expression of EGFR,VEGF and COX-2 can be used as a biological marker to evaluate the behavior of EC.