Phytoremediation using hyperaccumulators is a promising technique of removing soil pollutants. In the study, growth responses, cadmium (Cd) accumulation capability and physiological mechanisms of Lonicera japonica Thunb. under Cd stress were investigated. Exposed to 5 and 10 mg L-1 Cd, the plants did not show any visual symptoms, furthermore, the height, dry biomass of leaves, roots and total and the chlorophyll (CHL) content were obtained different grade increase. When the concentration of Cd was up to 50 mg L-1, the height, dry biomass of leaves and roots had not significant differences compared with the control. The indexes of tolerance (IT) were all above 0.8. The maintenance of high superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities was observed along with the increased Cd concentration, suggesting strong internal detoxification mechanisms inside plant cells. After 21 days exposure to 25 mg L-1 Cd, stem and shoot Cd concentrations reached 344.49 +/- 0.71 and 286.12 +/- 9.38 mu g g(-1) DW, respectively and the plant had higher bioaccumulation coefficient (BC) and translocation factor (TF). According to these results, it was shown L.japonica had strong tolerance and accumulation capability to Cd, therefore it is a potential Cd-hyperaccumulator. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.