Objective: To explore the microRNA expression profile and distribution characteristics of exosomes derived from human esophageal cancer cells by Solexa high-throughput sequencing.Methods: Exosomes were extracted from cell culture supernatants by multiple centrifugation.Total RNAs of cells and exosomes were extracted by mirVana miRNA Isolation Kit.Combined with bioinformatic method, the types, abundance, and targets of known miRNAs in cells and exosomes were analyzed by Solexa high-throughput sequencing.And some new miRNAs were predicted.Results: There were 56421 (2.94%) unique sequences in cells and 7727 (0.63%) in exosomes matched the known miRNAs.342 in cells and 48 in exosomes conserved miRNAs had been identified.Moreover, 11 novel miRNAs were predicted.The expression level of hsa-miR-chr15_4885 and hsa-miR-chr18_7463 in exosomes were significantly higher than cells, with an average fold-change of 10 while hsa-miR-chr7_20613 and hsa-miR-chr19_8205 in cells were significantly higher than exosomes, with an average fold-change of thousands.Conclusion: The miRNA expression profile in exosomes is different from that in cell.The specific miRNAs expressed in exosomes are suggested to play an important role in intercellular communication mediated by exosomes.