Cadmium (Cd) is one of hazardous heavy metal elements with high toxicity, which can not only accumulate in plant tissues, soils and water, but also migrate from one ecosystem to another ecosystem. In the forest region, the Cd absorbed by trees might be delivered to forest stream by plant debris, surface runoff and percolating water, and deposit in stream sediment or migrate to the butted river. As a result, an investigation on the dynamic characteristics of Cd storage and distribution in the forest stream is benefit to understand the Cd biogeochemical linkages between forest and the butted river. However, little information is available on forest stream Cd storage dynamics although the emission, deposition and migration of Cd between industrial ecosystem and natural ecosystem has been widely investigated in industrial districts. Moreover, the subalpine forest located in the upper reaches of Yangtze River plays crucial roles in holding and cleaning freshwater resource, and conserving soil and water, as a consequence of which an investigation on the biogeochemical linkage between forest and forest streams can provide with key scientific basis for forest management at watershed scale. In order to understand the Cd biogeochemical linkage of the subalpine forest region with the butted river ecosystem, Cd concentration in water, sediment and plant debris were therefore measured in fifteen subalpine forest streams located in the upper reaches of Minjiang River from September 2015 to August 2016. Here, fifteen forest streams were classified into five typical subalpine forest streams in the range of length 10-50 m, 50-150 m and 150-260 m, respectively. The Cd storage in the subalpine forest streams ranged from 2.57 mg/m² to 128.46 mg/m², and was stored mainly in the stream sediment. No significant difference of Cd storage was observed among the upper, middle and lower reaches of subalpine forest streams. The highest Cd storage in the subalpine forest stream ecosystems was found in Autumn litter peak, and the lowest value in secondary litter peak in Spring, implying that the litter in Autumn is one of the most important Cd input pathways. Moreover, the highest Cd storages in the upper, middle and lower reaches of forest stream ecosystem were also observed in Autumn litterfall peak, and the lowest values varied with the reaches. The lowest Cd storages in the upstream and midstream of forest stream ecosystems were found in secondary litterfall peak in Spring, while that in the downstream was observed in non-litterfall peak. Additionally, litter Cd storage in the subalpine forest streams was significantly correlated with stream hydrological characteristics, and the relationships of Cd storage in the sediment with stream hydrological characteristics varied with stream positions. In brief, the Cd storage in the subalpine forest stream ecosystem had clear seasonality, and the potential of water self-purification. These results provided a new perspective for further understanding of the biogeochemical cycle of Cd in aquatic-terrestrial ecosystems, and for managing subalpine forest at catchment level.