The effect of сadmium nitrate on the leaf growth and lipid composition in the fern Matteuccia sthruthiopteris has been examined. The plants were incubated in Knop's medium in the presence/absence of 100 μM of сadmium nitrate during 10 days. The plants accumulated more than 80 % of cadmium in the roots. Accumulation of cadmium in the fiddleheads and mature fronds was about 1.2 and 9.0 μg/g dry weight, respectively. Cadmium was noted to stimulate growth and increase the biomass of mature fronds. At different stages of the leaf development, certain changes in the composition of lipids and fatty acids were observed, particularly, an increased synthesis of glycolipids and a betaine lipid, as well as multidirectional changes in the composition of phospholipids. It was concluded that M. sthruthiopteris is resistant to cadmium owing to adaptive features of the lipid metabolism implemented at the morphological and cellular levels.