Abstract: Objective To detect the mRNA expression of CNTN-1 gene in human esophageal squamous cancer and the relationship with tumor development. Methods mRNA expression levels of CNTN-1 gene of 20 cases of normal esophageal epithelium and 60 cases of esophageal squamous cancer tissues and cancer adjacent tissues were detected by SYBR Green real-time quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry. Results Compared with normal esophageal epithelium and cancer adjacent tissues,CNTN-1 gene mRNA levels in esophageal squamous cancer tissues were significantly increased by 6.7 times and 2.3 times separately.Immunohistochemistry also demonstrated that the mRNA expression levels of CNTN-1 gene in esophageal squamous cancer tissue were significantly up-regulated than those in normal esophageal epithelium and cancer adjacent tissues. Conclusion The mRNA expression of CNTN-1 gene in human esophageal squamous cancer was significantly up-regulated and associated with cancer development.