Significant numbers of patients are experiencing long-term survival following esophagectomy for cancer because of detection and resection of early-stage cancer and decreased operative mortality. Increasing use of esophagectomy for benign end-stage esophageal diseases also results in long-term survivors. Therefore, measures of outcome other than survival after esophagectomy are both necessary and important. Anastomotic complications after esophagectomy, most notably stricture, greatly affect swallowing and quality of life. Although anastomotic stricture seems a logical measure of outcome and is simple to conceptualize, it is difficult, if not impossible, to define. This article discusses the occurrence and treatment of anastomotic stricture after esophagectomy