The aim of this study was to identify the risk of recurrence in patients with thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (TESCC) treated with curative surgery. The retrospective analysis included 1002 consecutive patients with TESCC who had been treated with curative surgery in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, China, between 2003 and 2008. Univariate and multivariate analyses using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model, respectively, were performed to identify the independent risk factors for locoregional recurrence and all the recurrence events. The 2-and 5-year recurrence rates were 39.0 and 59.2%, respectively. More than 85% of recurrences occurred within 36 months. The variables associated with a higher rate of recurrence in the univariate analysis were gender (male), length of tumor (≥5 cm), depth of invasion (deeper), lymph node metastasis (greater), histological grade (higher) and vessel involvement (positive). By multivariate analyses, gender (HR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.2-2.5; P=0.002), depth of invasion (HR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.2-1.6; P<0.001) and lymph node involvement (HR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.3-1.5; P<0.001) were independent predictive factors of recurrence. Post-operative radiotherapy or chemotherapy did not significantly prolong failure-free survival (FFS), particularly in patients with early-stage disease. Information regarding the depth of primary tumor invasion and the number of lymph nodes involved may help in evaluating the recurrence risk in patients with TESCC treated with curative surgery. Further studies are required to clarify the correlation between recurrence and the different multidisciplinary treatment approaches.