Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin essential to human body. Many of the biological functions of vitamin D are mediated by vitamin D receptor (VDR), which regulates the transcription of target genes. It has been found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with the development of a variety of tumors, while vitamin D supplement may reduce the incidence of a variety of tumors, and improve the survival rate and prognosis of some tumors. It has been documented that vitmin D and its analogues can not only regulate calcium and phosphorus metabolism, but also play an anticancer role by inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, inducing tumor cell differentiation or apoptosis, anti-angiogenesis, inhibiting malignant cell transfer and inhibiting inflammation. However, the association between the prevalence of esophageal cancer (EC) and vitamin D levels remains controversial. The significant differences in the risk of vitamin D and EC in different studies may be related to the gender, age, and the histological characteristics of EC. In vitro and animal model studies showed that vitamin D could inhibit the proliferation of EC cells. It has also been found that EC patients with high expression of VDR have a good prognosis, VDR gene polymorphism may be associated with EC. This review present the current opinions on the structure, function, anti-tumor mechanism of vitamin D and its receptor, and its roles in the carcinogenesis of esophageal cancer.