Objective To analyze the expression of long⁃chain non⁃coding RNA（lncRNA）lymphocyteleukemia deletion gene 1（DLEU1）in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma（ESCC）and its clinical significance.The effect of DLEU1 on the proliferation，migration and invasion of TE⁃13 was further studied. Methods Real⁃timequantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of DLEU1 in ESCC and adjacent normaltissues. The effects of DLEU1 on the proliferation，migration and invasion of TE⁃13 were analyzed by CCK⁃8，scratchtest and Transwell test. Results The expression of DLEU1 in ESCC was significantly higher than that in adjacentnormal tissues（P < 0.05）. The expression of DLEU1 was correlated with lymph node metastasis and TNM stage（P < 0.05），but not with age，gender，degree of differentiation and depth of invasion（P > 0.05）. After knockdownof DLEU1 in TE⁃13 cells，cell proliferation，migration and invasion were significantly suppressed. Conclusion The expression of DLEU1 was up⁃regulated in ESCC，and the high expression of DLEU1 suggested a poor progno⁃sis. DLEU1 may have a regulatory effect on the proliferation，migration and invasion of TE⁃13 cells，and it maybecome a potential target for ESCC treatment.