Objective：To investigate the effect and the molecular mechanism of DJ-1/PARK7 on migration and invasion with irradiation of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods：Short hairpin RNA（shRNA）was used to stably transfect esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells kyse150 and kyse450 and knockdown the expression of DJ-1 gene. Western blot was used to detect the transfection efficiency of cells. Transwell assay was used to detect the migration ability of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells under gradient irradiation（0，4，6，8 Gy）. The control group cells transfected with empty virus and the DJ-1 knockdown group cells were irradiated by 6 Gy X-ray. Cell healing assay and Transwell assay were used to analyze the migration and invasion ability of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells. Western blot was used to detect the expression changes of epithelial-mesenchymal transition（EMT）pathway related proteins E-cadherin，N-cadherin and matrix metalloproteinase 2（MMP2）. Results：After DJ-1 was knocked down，DJ-1 protein expression levels in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells kyse150 and kyse450 were significantly decreased. Transwell assay showed that，induced by 6 Gy radiation，esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells kyse150 and kyse450 had the strongest migration ability. According to the cell healing assay and Transwell assay，the migration and invasion of kyse150 and kyse450 cells were reduced after DJ-1 was knocked down. Western blot analysis showed that E-cadherin expression increased，N-cadherin expression and MMP2 expression decreased after DJ-1 was knocked down. Conclusion：Knockdown of DJ-1 expression can reduce the irradiation-induced migration and invasion ability of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells kyse150 and kyse450，and the mechanism may be related to the inhibition of EMT process by up-regulating E-cadherin，down-regulating N-cadherin and MMP2 protein expression.