N1-methyladenosine (m1A) RNA modification represents one of the essential post-transcriptional modifications in gene expression regulation. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the development of malignant tumors, including esophageal cancer (ESCA). However, whether m1A can regulate that lncRNA in cancer cells remains unclear. ESCA cell lines TE1 and KYSE70 were used for functional experiments. The mRNA and protein levels were detected by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, respectively. Colony formation and tumor sphere formation assays were used for evaluating ESCA stemness. The m1A modification on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma associated long non-coding RNA 1 (ESCCAL-1) transcript was examined by methylated RNA immunoprecipitation. In this study, we report that RNA m1A demethylase alkylation repair homolog 3 (ALKBH3)-mediated ESCCAL-1 is implicated in maintaining stem cell-like properties of ESCA. Clinically, ESCCAL-1 was up-regulated in ESCA and positively correlated with tumor stage. In addition, patients with higher ESCCAL-1 expression in tumors had shorter median survival. Functionally, the knockdown of ESCCAL-1 attenuated the stemness of ESCA cells as indicated by decreased sphere formation and colony formation capacities, while overexpression of ESCCAL-1 elicits the opposite biological effects. Moreover, ESCCAL-1 manipulation positively regulated both mRNA and protein levels of KLF4 and CD44, two stemness-related markers. Mechanistically, ALKBH3 upregulated ESCCAL-1 expression in an m1A demethylation-dependent manner. Notably, the downregulation of ALKBH3 mimicked the effects of ESCCAL-1 deficiency on ESCA stemness, and this phenomenon is significantly reversed by the enforced expression of ESCCAL-1. Our results revealed the role of m1A-mediated ESCCAL-1 in ESCA self-renewal, which expands the understanding of lncRNA post-transcriptional modification in cancer development.