Surgery is the preferred treatment for early esophageal cancer. Minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) can significantly reduce the incidence of postoperative complications and mortality, but due to the complex esophageal anatomy, intraoperative esophageal exposure, separation, anastomosis and lymph node dissection are difficult. The da Vinci surgical system provides a 3D vision and a more flexible as well as stable robotic arm, which is very helpful in completing fine surgical procedures. Robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy(RAMIE) has been carried out in a number of countries, including China. Robot-assisted Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy (RAILE) is a transthoracic approach of robots developed in recent years. This paper summarizes the current researches on RAILE.