Abstract: Esophageal cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the digestive tract in China. At present, surgical resection is the main method to cure esophageal cancer. With the population and implementation of the enhanced recovery after surgery, perioperative physical therapy plays a more and more important role. This review discussed the necessity of preoperative cardiopulmonary function assessment in patients with esophageal cancer, the effects of preoperative respiratory training and aerobic exercise on optimizing physical fitness and reducing postoperative complications, and the content of early postoperative physical therapy. Preoperative cardiopulmonary function of esophageal cancer patients is not strongly related with the outcome, which may be related to the complexity of esophageal cancer surgery and the high incidence of postoperative complications. Preoperative inspiratory muscle exercise can improve the pulmonary function of patients to some extent, but still lack of large sample size research. Preoperative aerobic exercise for esophageal cancer can improve the patient's physical reserve and should be valued. Postoperative physiotherapy priorities includes pain management, chest physical therapy and early mobilization. Exercise prescriptions such as intensity and time for early mobilization are yet to be further studied.

Key words: esophageal cancer, rehabilitation, physical therapy, review