Objective:To investigate the expression and clinical significance of CD24 in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC). Methods:CD24 expression of 63 esophageal squamous cell carcinomas was analyzed by SP immunohistochemistry,and the expression level of CD24 was calculated by the positive cells ratio. Results:CD24 expression was observed in cytomembrane,cytoblast and cytoplasm in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissues. The positive rates were 80.95%(51/63),88.88%(56/63)and 85.71%(54/63),respectively,which were obviously higher than 55.56%(35/63),50.79%(32/63) and 0 in the normal esophageal tissues. The expression of CD24 was increasing with the deep of invasion, the increasing number of regional lymph nodes, the distant metastasis and the clinical stage of tumor. The differences among each groups were statistically significant(all P < 0.05). Conclusion:The expression of CD24 has a positive correlation with the depth of invasion, the regional lymph nodes, the distant metastasis and the TNM stage of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (P < 0.05). The expression of CD24 may play a significant role in the development of the esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and be a new independent prognostic marker in tumor progression of this disease.