To summarize published data on the role of common genetic variants of the X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) gene in susceptibility to esophageal cancer (EC), we performed a meta-analysis including 11 eligible publications with 3,306 patients and 6,852 controls for Arg(399)Gln and 832 patients and 1,418 controls for Arg(194)Trp. Overall, the variant Gln(399) allele was not associated with EC risk, compared with the Arg(399) allele in the populations included in the analysis. However, stratified analysis revealed that Gln(399) allele was associated with an increased EC risk among Chinese populations in a recessive model (OR, 1.33; 95% CI 1.01-1.76; fixed effects) and by homozygote contrast (OR, 1.35; 95% CI 1.01-1.81), particularly for the tumor histology of squamous cell carcinoma (OR, 1.34; 95% CI 1.03-1.73 for the recessive model) and (OR, 1.34; 95% CI 1.02-1.76 for the homozygote contrast). There was no apparent effect of the Trp(194) allele, compared to the Arg(194) allele, on the EC risk in all analyses. These results suggest that the XRCC1 Arg(399)Gln polymorphism may be a potential biomarker of EC susceptibility in Chinese populations, particularly for squamous cell carcinoma. Further larger studies with multi-ethnic populations are required to further assess the association between XRCC1 polymorphisms and EC risk.