We analyzed the prognostic factors related to long-term survival in 31 patients, 27 men and 4 women, median age 67 years, who had lymph node recurrence after radical esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. The pathological Stage was Stage I in 2 patients, Stage II in 9 patients, Stage III in 18 patients, and Stage IV a in 2 patients. Seventeen patients were diagnosed with lymph node recurrence in a single area and the other 14 patients were diagnosed with lymph node recurrence in multiple areas(n=3)or lymph node recurrence complicated by hematogenous or disseminated metastases(n=11). Eighteen patients were treated with chemoradiotherapy(CRT), and surgical intervention after CRT was indicated in 5 of them. One patient had surgery alone, 7 were treated with chemotherapy, and 5 were administered best palliative care. The median survival after recurrence was 357 days. The patients with lymph node recurrence in a single area and those treated by CRT or surgery had significantly better prognosis than the others. Although the overall prognosis for patients with tumor recurrence after esophagectomy is poor, lymph node recurrence in a single area or treated with local therapy was associated with better long-term survival.