Background: The morbidity and mortality of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains stubbornly high, in spite of emerging new diagnoses methods. The role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in ESCC progression is still in need of more exploration. Methods: In this research, we gathered 36 patients’ ESCC tissues to analyze the expression of circ0120816, miR-1305 and TXNRD1. KYSE450 and KYSE510 cells were used to conduct the transfection. Aiming to verify our hypothesis, qRT-PCR, RNase R treatment, nuclear extraction, luciferase reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation assay, CCK-8, BrdU, cell adhesion, caspase 3 activity assay were used. Results: Circ0120816, upregulated in ESCC, acted as a sponge for miR-1305. Circ0120816 combined miR-1305 to enhance cell viability, proliferation adhesion and repress cell apoptosis in ESCC cell lines. On the contrary, miR-1305 exerted reversed effect in ESCC cells through decreasing TXNRD1. Conclusions: This research demonstrated that circ0120816 promoted ESCC development by competitive binding miR-1305 which could increase the expression of TXNRD1.