Independent radiotherapy for esophageal cancer has low efficiency. Brachytherapy is one of the ways to escalate the total focal dose (TFD) without increasing the radiation load on risk organs. Objective — to improve the results of radiotherapy for esophageal cancer by including high-dose-rate brachytherapy in a treatment regimen. Subject and methods. A total of 199 patients with inoperable esophageal cancer received an independent cycle of radiation therapy in the period 2008 to 2018. Group 1 included 52 patients who had received combined radiotherapy involving beam therapy (BT) up to a TFD of 40—50 Gy, followed by 2 sessions of brachytherapy with a single focal dose of 7 Gy at one-week interval; Group 2 consisted of 77 patients who had a cycle of BT up to 60—70 Gy; Group 3 comprised 70 patients in whom the TFD was limited to 40—50 Gy. Results. X-ray examination techniques revealed a positive objective response in 80, 52, and 38% of cases in Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Three-year overall survival rates were 29, 9.6, and 3.6%, respectively, with the difference between Groups 1 and 2 being statistically significant (p=0.001), and with that between Groups 2 and 3 being statistically insignificant (p=0.16). The median survival was 13.9, 9, and 8 months in Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Conclusion. Brachytherapy used as a boost after BT 40—50 Gy improves overall survival. BT more than 40—50 Gy has no impact on survival rates.