Cadmium pollution in soil has been one of the focuses of environmental research. Despite many investigations were carried out in the variation of Cd activity in submerged soils, the conclusions remained ambiguous or conflicting. In this review, advances in research on the dissolution and precipitation of iron oxides in flooded soils were reviewed. Then the variation of Cd activity affected by the environmental behavior of iron oxides in submerged soils and the possible mechanisms were discussed in detail. Finally some important questions and directions for future in this field were also put forward.