Background This study aimed to evaluate the potential of induction chemotherapy as an indicator of the management of advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma with cervical oesophageal invasion. Methods Sixty-eight patients admitted to our hospital between February 2003 and November 2016 with stage IVB hypopharyngeal carcinoma with cervical oesophageal invasion were retrospectively analysed. Patients were divided into two groups according to the treatment they selected following an explanation of the different treatments available. Patients in group A received induction chemotherapy and had (1) complete/partial remission following chemotherapy and radiotherapy/concurrent chemoradiotherapy or (2) stable disease following chemotherapy and surgery. Patients in group B underwent surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy/concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences between the groups were evaluated using the log-rank test. Laryngeal and oesophageal retention rates were compared using the cross-tabulation test. Results The 3- and 5-year overall survival rates were 22.86% and 11.43% in group A and 24.25% and 6.06% in group B, respectively (all P > 0.05). The laryngeal and oesophageal retention rates were 40.0% and 74.3% in group A and 0.0% and 27.3% in group B, respectively (all P < 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of post-operative complications between the two groups (group A 8.6%, group B 12.1%; P > 0.05). Conclusions Induction chemotherapy may be an appropriate first choice to ensure laryngeal and oesophageal preservation in the individualised treatment of advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma with cervical oesophageal invasion.