Abstract: Cadmium (Cd)-contaminated paddy soil has become a global agricultural safety issue. Paddy soils contaminated by Cd jeopardize the rice cultivation and the health of people with rice as their staple food. Foliage application to alleviate Cd toxicity in rice might offer a cost-effective and practical strategy for safe food production. Field experiments in two consecutive rice seasons and hydroponic experiment were performed to investigate the effectiveness and mechanisms of foliage dressing. Foliar spray of S was effective to reduce the Cd concentration in rice grain (28%-50%) and increase the grain yield (6%-30%). The reduction of Cd concentration in rice decreased the direct damage to the photosynthetic system (with the net photosynthetic rate increased to 2%-25%; stomatal conductance increased to 7%-25%; intercellular CO₂ concentration increased to 2%-10%; transpiration rate increased to 1%-11%; and actual PSⅡ photochemical efficiency increased to 3%-21%), and then increased the rice growth. Fourier transform infrared spectra showed that the foliar treatment stimulated the syntheses of aliphatic acid, polysaccharides, carboxylate and proteins, which likely reduced mobility of Cd in cell wall or vacuole. This study provided preliminary evidence that the effect of foliar application of S likely retained the structure of plant cells and effectively regulated protein expression by alleviating Cd stress without sacrificing yield, which has great potential for the remediation of vast agricultural fields.