Background: Patterns of recurrence after surgery with postoperative chemoradiotherapy (S-CCRT) or surgery alone in patients with oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) may differ. This might influence the nature and timing of subsequent management strategies. Methods: Patients with SCC who had undergone R0 resection were included. Propensity score matching was used to select matched groups. Survival and recurrence were compared by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses were used to identify prognostic factors for overall and disease-free survival. Results: A total of 1390 patients were included, of whom 1000 had surgery alone and 390 underwent S-CCRT. Propensity score matching yielded 213 well balanced pairs. The 3-year overall survival rate and median survival time in the S-CCRT group were 0.50 and 36.5 (95 per cent c.i. 25.1 to 52.6) months respectively, compared with 0.38 and 22.8 (18.2 to 29.0) months in the surgery-alone group (P = 0.006). The 3-year disease-free survival rate and median disease-free survival time in the S-CCRT group were 0.46 and 30.6 (22.2 to 39.3) months respectively, compared with 0.36 and 17.6 (11.3 to 23.9) months in the surgery-alone group (P = 0.006). The 2-year freedom from locoregional recurrence rate was 0.87 and 0.77 in the S-CCRT and surgery-alone groups respectively (P = 0.003). In multivariable analysis, independent prognostic factors for disease-free survival included age over 56 years, pT3-4 category, pN category, poor differentiation, tumour length exceeding 4.0 cm, and receiving postoperative chemoradiotherapy (hazard ratio 0.62, 95 per cent c.i. 0.47 to 0.81; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Oesophagectomy with postoperative chemoradiotherapy was associated with longer survival and lower recurrence rates, especially at a locoregional level, compared with surgery alone.