Objective    To assess the efficacy of lymphadenectomy in different regions for esophageal squamous cell carcinomas located differently according to the lymph node grouping by Chinese expert consensus. Methods    The medical records of 1 061 patients (886 males and 175 females with a median age of 60 (54, 65) years with esophageal cancer from March 2011 to December 2017 in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. According to the pathological report, the lymph nodes were regrouped according to the Chinese lymph nodes grouping standard of esophageal cancer. The metastasis rate of each group of lymph nodes, the 5-year survival rate of metastatic patients and efficacy index (EI) were calculated. Results    The upper thoracic esophageal cancer mainly metastasized to the lymph nodes of C201-203 groups. The middle and lower thoracic tumors mainly metastasized to the lymph nodes of C205-207 groups. The lower thoracic tumor had a higher rate of metastasis to the abdominal lymph nodes. According to the metastasis rate, the mediastinal lymph nodes were divided into three regions: an upper mediastinum (C201-204), a middle mediastinum (C205-206), and a lower mediastinum (C207-209). The EIs of lymph nodes of C201-203 and C205-207 groups were higher. For patients with C201-207 groups metastasis, the 5-year survival rates ranged from 13.39% to 21.60%. For patients with positive lymph nodes in each region, tumors at different primary locations had no statistical difference in long-term survival (P>0.05). Patients with lymph nodes of C205 group in the upper thoracic tumors had lower EI and those in the middle and lower thoracic tumors had higher EIs. Conclusion    The effect of lymph node dissection in each area varies with the location of the tumor. No matter where the tumor is, it is necessary to dissect the upper mediastinal lymph nodes, especially the lymph nodes adjacent to the left and right recurrent laryngeal nerves. Group C205 should be classified into the lower mediastinal lymph nodes.