The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of He-Ne laser pretreatment of wheat seeds on the seedlings resistance to cadmium stress.The results showed that 150 μmol/L Cd treatment significantly reduced plant height,root length,shoot dry weight,root dry weight,ascorbate acid (AsA) and glutathione (GSH) contents,the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD),peroxidase (POD),catalase (CAT),ascorbate peroxidase (APX),enhanced the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA),hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and the rate of superoxide radical (O^-·₂) generation in the wheat seedlings when compared with the control.However,seeds with He-Ne laser pretreatment for 5 min conferred tolerance to cadmium stress in wheat seedlings by decreasing the contents of MDA and H₂O₂,the rate of O^-·₂ generation and increasing the activities of SOD,POD,CAT,APX and AsA,GSH contents.These results suggest that those changes in MDA,O^-·₂,H₂O₂,anti-oxidative enzymes,and antioxidative compounds are responsible for the enhance cadmium stress resistance observed in the experiments.The results also show that the laser have a positive physiological effect on the growth of cadmium stressed seedlings.