Objective To study soil environment characteristics of high_mortality areas of esophageal cancer in Three Gorge dam region. Methods To contrast the disparity of soil type,soil use,and basic characteristics,in particular microelement contents in high_mortality area and low_mortality area of esophageal cancer. Results Calcareous purple soils distributed dominantly in high_mortality area,and soil pH and CaCO3 content was high,and soil fertility low. While paddy soils occupyed mainly in low_mortality area,and pH and CaCO3 content was low however soil fertility high.Moreover,the microelement contents in soils in high_mortality area were lower than those in low_mortality area apparently. Conclusion Mortality of esophageal cancer was closely relative to the contents of some microelements in the soil environment.