Objective  To investigate the effect of histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) on the migration of human esophageal squamous carcinoma cells(ESCC) and the possible mechanism.   Methods  KYSE-150 cells and EC9706 cells were cultured and Transwell assay was performed to detect the role of TSA alone and combined with protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor AEB071 on cell migration; the images of morphology after cells treatment with TSA or combination of AEB071 with TSA; Western blotting was conducted to examine the protein level of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) related signaling molecules.   Results  TSA promoted the migration of ESCC cells significantly, and PKC inhibitor AEB071 partly inhibited the effect of TSA-promoted ESCC cells migration. Treatment with TSA resulted in the cell morphology transitioned from epithelia oval-like to mesenchymal spindle-like, indicating the EMT. AEB071 partially rescued ESCC cells morphological changes which TSA induced. Western blotting showed that TSA reduced the expression of E-cadherin and augmented the expression of vimentin, β-catenin, Slug and acH3, whereas AEB071 obviously blocked the EMT-related protein level changes which induced by TSA.   Conclusion  TSA promotes ESCC cells migration via inducing EMT process and the mechanism may be mediated by PKC signaling pathway.