The impacts of straw removal on rice Cd absorption, behaviour of Cd and microbial community in rhizosphere soil were investigated in paddy fields over two consecutive seasons. The results of the experiments in two fields revealed that straw removal promoted the transformation of soil Cd from acid-extractable and oxidisable fraction to residual fraction and reduced soil DTPA-Cd content with the reduction in DOC and Cd ions in soil porewater, thereby decreasing Cd content in rice. Specifically, the Cd content in brown rice of early rice was below 0.2mg·kg−1 when all rice straw and roots were removed in the slightly Cd-contaminated soils. The α-diversity of soil microbial communities was less influenced by continuous straw removal, β-diversity was altered and the relative abundances of Anaeromyxobacter, Methylocystis and Mycobacterium microbes were increased. Redundancy analysis and network analysis exhibited that soil pH predominantly influenced the microbial community. Path analysis revealed that the Cd content in brown rice could be directly influenced by the soil Total-Cd and DTPA-Cd, as well as soil pH and OM. Straw removal, including root removal, is an economical and effective technique to reduce Cd accumulation in rice plants. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONHeavy metal Cd pollution in paddy fields is still the primary problem affecting the safe production of rice in Asian countries, especially in China. Currently, straw removal is a significant technique and holds promise as a viable method for remediating Cd-contaminated soil in southern China. We analysed the effects of straw removal from putting the issues into perspective. It was found that straw removal reduced the contents of soil Total-Cd and DTPA-Cd by changing soil pH and OM, hindered the migration of Cd from soil to rice, and affected the microbial community and Cd accumulation in rice.