This paper analyses the surgical literature devoted to lymph node clearance for cancer of the esophagus. Involvement of a small number of lymph nodes by the neoplastic process does not preclude long-term survival and even cure. The superiority of the 3-field dissection over the 2-field dissection, although suggested in the available studies, should be confirmed by a prospective randomized study. Extensive lymph node clearance protects many patients from local recurrence, and allows to staging of the neoplastic disease and selection of those patients who are eligible for adjuvant therapy.