In order to explain the high capability of the scallop Chlamys farreri for cadmium accumulation, the subcellular distribution of Cd in the different tissues of the scallop C. farreri and its relationship between subcellular distribution and metal biokinetics was investigated. The results showed that for the control group, the metallothionein-like protein (MTLP) and the cell organelles were the main detoxification pools for the digestive gland, gills and gonad, and MTLP was the main pool for the adductor muscle. During the accumulation experiment, for the digestive glands and gills, the content and the percentage of Cd in the MTLP and the metal-rich granule(MRG) were all significantly increased, but the percentage of Cd in the cell organelles decreased. The Cd content in the MTLP, cell organelles and MRG in the gonad were all significantly increased, but the percentage of Cd in the MTLP and cell organelles kept decreasing with the percentage of Cd in the MRG increased. For the adductor muscle, when exposed to Cd, the Cd content in the MTLP and MRG significantly increased, and the percentage of Cd in the MRG was also significantly increased. During the elimination experiment, for the digestive glands and gills, the content of Cd in the MTLP was significantly decreased, at the same time, the content of Cd and the percentage of Cd in the cell organelles, heat-sensitive protein (HSP) and MRG kept increasing; for the gonad, the Cd content in every subcellular fractions decreased obviously, but the percentage of Cd in different subcellular fractions had no obvious change. For the adductor muscle, Cd content in the MTLP and MRG significantly decreased, and the percentage of Cd in MRG also kept decreasing. Present results first disclosed that the subcellular distribution of Cd was different for different tissues in the scallop C. farreri, and the redistribution of Cd in different subcellular fractions in the digestive gland and gills occurred during Cd accumulation and elimination.