The aim of this study is to examine the effect and mechanism of a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor NS-398 on inducing apoptosis of esophageal cancer cells. After the treatment with NS-398 on esophageal carcinoma EC9706 cell, MTT assay was used to observe the inhibition of EC9706 cell growth and apoptosis was determined by electronic microscopy and flow cytometry. The expression of survivin and caspase-3 was examined using immunocytochemical technique. The dose of 0.01–0.1 mM NS398 showed the inhibitory effect on growth of EC9706 cell lines and induce apoptosis in a dose- and time-effective manner; moreover, NS-398 also downregulated the level of expression of survivin and elevated the expression of capase-3. NS-398 can induce apoptosis of the esophageal carcinoma EC9706 cells by means of adjusting expression of survivin and caspase-3.