Objective To study the expression and clinical significance of miR-183-5p, TβRⅠ and TβRⅡ in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods The mRNA and protein expression of miR-183-5p, TβRⅠ and TβRⅡ were examined in ESCC cell lines ECA-109, TE-1, normal esophageal epithelial cells, tumor tissues and tumor-free tissues from 72 ESCC patients. Their clinical significance and the relationship between miR-183-5p and the latter two were analyzed. The effects of miR-183-5p on the expression of TβRⅠand TβRⅡ in ECA-109 cells and the cell functions of ECA-109 were also investigated. Results Compared with the normal esophageal epithelia cells, ESCC cell lines TE-1 and ECA-109 were statistically characterized by a high expression of miR-183-5p (all P<0.05) and low expression of TβRⅠand TβRⅡ(all P<0.05). The expression of miR-183-5p in ESCC tissues was higher than that in adjacent normal tissues, while the expressions of TβRⅠ and TβRⅡ were lower (all P< 0.05). The expression of miR-183-5p was closely related to sex, tumor differentiation, tumor staging, distant metastasis, lymphatic metastasis, and tumor location (all P<0.05). TβRⅠlevel was associated with sex, lymph node metastasis and tumor size (all P<0.05). Experimental data showed the negative correlation between the expression of miR-183-5p and TβRⅠin ESCC tissues (r= -0.521, P< 0.05). Over expression of miR-183-5p significantly inhibited the expression of TβRⅠ in ECA-109 cells (P< 0.05) and promoted the growth, invasion and metastasis of ECA-109 cells (P< 0.05). Low expression of miR-183-5p significantly promoted the expression of TβRⅠ in ECA-109 cells (P< 0.05), and suppressed the growth, invasion and metastasis of ECA-109 cells (P< 0.05). There was no significant change in the expression of TβRⅡ in the transfection experiments. Conclusion MiR-183-5p is closely related to the abnormal expression of TβRⅠ, which may exert an important role in the progression of lymphatic metastasis.