Cadmium is a nonessential heavy metal, and human body exposed to cadmium will produce many adverse effects, including the cellular canceration and apoptosis, etc. Numerous studies focus on toxicity of cadmium, but the underlying cellular mechanisms of cadmium-induced organism toxicity remains elusive. In this review, based upon the major findings of previous reports related to cadmium and apoptotic cell death, we discuss process of cadmium research in transportation and its effect on cell apoptosis and signaling pathway in a system manner.