The uptake of zinc and cadmium by a species of marine diatom Thalassirosira weissflogii and the nutrient variation (phosphorus and silicon) in the culture medium were estimated when exposed to zinc and cadmium stress under controlled laboratory conditions.It was found that low cadmium addition could stimulate the culture to grow with a relatively high rate and exert its toxicity at the elevated concentration.The cellular uptake of zinc and cadmium by the diatom varied in the ranges of 1.21～3.75 and 0.060～0.629 fmol per cell respectively in the whole cultivation period.The mean cellular phosphorus and silicon drawdowns were constant with 0.26～0.42 and 0.30～0.46 pmol per cell respectively in those healthy cultures.It is illustrated that the algal cells can adjust some physiological mechanisms to decrease metal accumulation and keep metal homeostasis in the organism.The correlation analysis results further indicate that the cellular cadmium uptake might be closely related with the cellular phosphorus, silicon drawdown and the growth rate of diatom (P＜0.05, 0.001, 0.01); and the cultures grow better in good conditions, the lower amount of phosphorus, silicon materials are consumed by a single cell to keep a high efficiency of utilization.