Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential element readily taken up by the plants. Cadmium negatively affects plant metabolism affecting growth and development. It is released into the environment by a number of sources including power stations, metal working industries, heating systems, batteries and urban traffic. Cadmium is recognized as an extremely deleterious pollutant due to its high toxicity and large solubility in water, and has been ranked among the top toxins. Having significant concern with plant and human health, Cadmium has been widely studied for its impacts on plant at various levels including metabolism. The objective of this paper is to review the effect of cadmium stress on growth and development in plants.