Objective:To explore the application of standardized treatment process for early enteral nutrition combined with gastric retention after operation in patients with esophageal cancer.Methods:Using convenience sampling, 84 patients with gastric retention complicated by early enteral nutrition support after esophagectomy in Department of Thoracic Surgery, Third People′s Hospital of Dalian from July 2015 to June 2020 were selected as the subjects. They were divided into control group and experimental group according to admission time with 42 cases in each group. The control group received routine nursing, while the experimental group received early enteral nutrition and gastric retention standardized treatment process nursing. The differences between the two groups in nutritional status and immune indexes before and 7 days after operation, the standard feeding rate within 7 days after operation, incidence of postoperative complications and enteral nutrition-related complications, length of hospitalization time and hospitalization expenses were compared.Results:In the control group, 2 cases were lost to follow-up. There was no statistically significant difference in preoperative nutritional status and immune indexes between the two groups ( P<0.05); 7 days after operation, the body mass index, serum total protein, prealbumin, nitrogen balance, IgM, CD3, CD4, and CD4/CD8 of the experimental group were all higher than those of the control group, and the differences between the two groups were statistically significant ( t values were 2.228-5.332, P<0.05 or 0.01).The standard feeding rate within 7 days was (68.93±8.12)% in the experimental group and (51.19±6.96)% in the control group, respectively, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( t value was -4.38, P<0.01). The incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, Ⅱ B healing, anastomotic fistula and aspiration was 2.38% (1/42), 2.38% (1/42) and 0 (0/42), 2.38% (1/42) in the experimental group and 15.00%(6/40), 7.50% (3/40) and 5.00% (2/40) and 10.00% (4/40) in the control group, respectively, and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2 values were 5.99 - 9.88, P< 0.05 or 0.01). The length of hospitalization time in the experimental group was (10.18±1.69) d, and the hospitalization cost was (53 268.46 ±3 651.56) yuan, both lower than (13.66 ± 2.18) d and (64 972.39 ± 4 029.81) yuan in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( t values were 2.14, 2.89, P< 0.05). Conclusions:The standardized treatment process of enteral nutrition combined with gastric retention can improve the feeding rate, nutritional index and immune index within 7 days after operation, reduce postoperative complications and incidence of enteral nutrition related complications, reduce the hospitalization time and reduce hospitalization expenses.