Abstract: Objective To investigate the difference of tumor formation in different mouse strains bearing patient-derived xenograft of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC) and establish a better animal model for preclinical study of individualized treatment of ESCC. Methods The tumor tissues collected from 22 ESCC patients were used to establish tumor-bearing mouse models in B-NDG® (NSG) mice and BALB/c nude mice. The tumor formation rate and tumor formation time were compared between the two mouse models, and HE staining, immunohistochemistry and genome sequencing were carried out to assess the consistency between transplanted tumor tissues in the models and patient-derived tumor tissues. Results The tumor-bearing models were established successfully in both NSG mice (50% , 11/22) and BALB/c nude mice (18.18%, 4/22). The average tumor formation time was significantly shorter in NSG mice than in BALB/c nude mice (75.95 vs 91.67 days, P<0.001). In both of the mouse models, the transplanted tumors maintained morphological characteristics identical to those of patient-derived ESCC tumors. Genetic analysis showed that the xenografts in NSG mice had a greater genetic similarity to the patients’ tumors than those in BALB/c nude mice (P<0.0001). Conclusion Mouse models bearing xenografts of patient-derived ESCC can be successfully established in both NSG mice and BALB/c nude mice, but the models in the former mouse strain can be more reliable.