Four kinds of ornamental plants, Symplocos caudate, Morus alba, Spiraea salicifolia, and Camellia japonica were tested under five cadmium (Cd) application rate levels that range from 0mg/kgto 100mg/kg in a greenhouse pot experiment. Effects of Cd stress on growth indexes, biomass increment, Cd content of root, stem, leaf, content of photosynthetic pigment, and content of MDA in them were investigated after one year growth. Tolerance index (Ti), Translocation factor(TF)and bio concentration factor(BCF)of 4 species are evaluated. The results showed that (1) Cd had distinct inhibition on the growth of plant, the average tolerance index of S. caudate, M. alba, S. salicifolia, and C. japonica were 93.99, 82.33, 82.10 and 87.25 separately. (2) With increasing soil Cd content, the 4 species seedlings had a increase of Cd content of root, stem and leaf. The Translocation factor of these tree species to soil Cd contamination are all lower than 1and followed the order of S.caudate > C. japonica > S. salicifolia > M. alba. BCF values of these tree species to soil Cd contamination followed the order of S. caudate > C. japonica > M. alba >S. salicifolia;The total contents of Cd absorbed in S. caudate and C. japonica are significantly higer than in S. salicifolia and M. alba. (3) Chlorophyll a/b values of them were not obviously changed compared with CK, but the contents of carotenoid of them increased with the increasing Cd concentration. The average content of MDA in M. alba, S. salicifolia, C. japonica and S. caudate increased 15%, 10.17%, 9.69% and 12.86% separately and followed the order of M. alba > S. salicifolia > C. japonica > S. caudate. The study suggested that S. caudate is a good candidate species for phytoremediation of Cd contaminated soil because of its higher Cd tolerance, transfer and accumulation ability of aboveground biomass.