A pot experiment was conducted to study the tolerance and accumulation characteristics of Viburnum odoratissinum growing in cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soil. The results showed that V. odoratissinum had a strong tolerance to Cd in contaminated soil. The biomass of V. odoratissinum was slightly changed by the soil Cd content within 56 days cultivation. With extended cultivation time (105-203 d), the growth of V. odoratissinum was obviously inhibited by the soil Cd content. After 154 days of cultivation, when the content of Cd in soil was 24.6 mg/kg, the contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoid and malondialdehyde (MDA) in fresh leaves of V. odoratissinum were slightly different from that of the control. After 203 days of cultivation, the carotenoid and MDA contents in fresh leaves increased slightly, whereas the chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b contents was obviously inhibited. Especially, the leaf growth of V. odoratissinum was inhibited significantly (P < 0.05) when the Cd content in soil was 24.6 mg/kg. Moreover, the accumulation and transferring factors of V. odoratissinum for Cd in the soil were more than 1 after 203 days of cultivation. The results suggested that V. odoratissinum is helpful for Cd-contaminated soil ecoremediation.