The optimal treatment for resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is still a debatable point; however, randomized trials for strategies including neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy (CT), radiotherapy, or chemoradiotherapy (CRT) are not always available. This network meta-analysis aimed to identify an effective approach through indirect comparisons. An extensive literature search comparing multimodality treatment and surgery was performed, and a network meta-analysis was conducted with the frequentist method. Twenty-three trials including a total of 3636 ESCC patients were included. Neoadjuvant CRT and neoadjuvant CT, which were recommended by most guidelines for esophageal cancer, were associated with an overall survival advantage compared with surgery alone (HR = 0.43, 95% CI 0.26-0.73; HR = 0.71, 95% CI 0.32-1.59). A statistically significant survival benefit from neoadjuvant CRT compared with neoadjuvant CT could not be demonstrated in our study (HR = 0.61, 95% CI 0.32-1.17, P = 0.08). Our network meta-analysis showed that both neoadjuvant CRT and neoadjuvant CT were effective in improving the survival of patients with ESCC. Individual clinical decisions need further study in the future.