Imaging of trace metal distribution in the cadmium ( Cd) hyperaccumulator Indian mustard by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry ( LA-ICP-MS ) was typically performed using spatial resolutions of 25 μm. Indian Mustard was submitted to 50 mol/L Cd for 14 days exposure and analysed using Nd:YAG laser (213 nm) . Intensities of 13 C, 34 S, 39 K, 44 Ca, 66 Zn, 111 Cd, 65 Cu and 31 P were measured by ICP-MS to study elemental distribution. Preferential Cd accumulation in vascular bundles was observed in stem tissue, whereas Cd was mainly localized to the mesophyll and vascular cells. The high relationship between Ca and Cd distribution indicated that the two elements had a very similar pathway. In vivo analytical method developed in this work was useful to study spatial element distribution across stem samples and had great potential for applications in other areas of plant pathology research.