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Introduction Esophagectomy is an important part of the treatment of esophageal cancer. This type of surgery is associated with a significant reduced quality of life and symptoms due to malnutrition. One way to improve the postoperative management is nutritional support (NS) in addition to a normal diet. The aim of this systematic review was to give a qualitative synthesis of the different post-operative nutritional support methods in this patient group, described in clinical trials over the past 20 years. Methods We searched systematically in three different databases: MEDLINE, Embase and CENTRAL. The screening and selection was done independently by two reviewers, data collection and risk of bias assessment by the first reviewer. Results We identified 516 records, finally we included 49 studies for qualitative synthesis. The described NS interventions could be divided into five different domains: (1) Enteral NS vs. parenteral NS (2) the optimal timing and route of enteral NS (3) Immunonutrition (4) Home enteral nutrition (HEN) and (5) Early oral feeding. We analysed the evidence and influence of these interventions on nutritional, prognosis and complication outcomes. Discussion The last 20 years, there was a noticeable evolution in the postoperative nutritional support (NS) after esophagectomy from parenteral to enteral NS to early oral feeding. It’s important that there is still attention to the important contribution of NS to reach the daily caloric intake. Especially long-term clinical trials to the impact of NS on QOL and functional recovery are needed in further research.