Introduction: There is increasing evidence that systemic inflammation influences the prognosis in patients with malignant tumors. The aim of this research was to investigate the prognostic value of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients with primary small-cell carcinoma of the esophagus. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed 129 patients with primary small-cell carcinoma of the esophagus who underwent esophagectomy in The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University between January 2008 and December 2010. NLRs were calculated by using the following formula: peripheral neutrophil count/lymphocyte count (109/L). Correlations of NLR with other clinicopathologic data and prognosis were analyzed. The survival rate was calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. The differences between groups were compared by using the log-rank test. Cox regression was used to analyze the factors that may affect the survival of the patients. Results: The survival rate was found to be related to tumor stage, tumor location, nodal metastasis, TNM stage, histology, adjuvant therapy, and NLR ( all P<0.05). High-NLR group had significantly poorer survival than low-NLR group (1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates: 46.6% vs 57.1%, 21.9% vs 50.0%, and 5.5% vs 23.2%, respectively, P=0.002). NLR was identified as an independent prognostic factor for patients with primary small-cell carcinoma of the esophagus. Conclusion: NLR is a valuable clinical marker in preoperative estimation as well as prognosis prediction for patients with primary small-cell carcinoma of the esophagus.