Background and aims <p>Cadmium (Cd) and abscisic acid (ABA) both influence plant growth and nutrient utilization, but the specifics of nitrogen utilization in response to Cd and ABA in rice are not yet fully understood. We hypothesize that ABA may mediate certain Cd-induced alterations in nitrogen utilization.</p> Methods <p>We combined nitrogen content determination, ¹⁵N-labeled absorption experiments, and nitrogen metabolism analyses to comprehensively examine the detailed processes of rice nitrogen utilization in response to Cd and ABA.</p> Results <p>Cd stress inhibited the uptake of nitrate (NO₃-N) and ammonium (NH₄-N) by rice plants, and also suppressed the transport of amino acids (AA-N), NO₃-N, and NH₄-N from roots to shoots. Under Cd stress, a larger proportion of AA-N was transported via the xylem and accumulated in the shoots, while the roots accumulated more NO₃-N. Similarly, ABA inhibited the uptake of NO₃-N and NH₄-N and also decreased NO₃-N transport through the xylem. Both ABA and Cd treatments resulted in a decrease in ¹⁵NH₄-N content in the shoots and roots and a reduction in ¹⁵NO₃-N content in the shoots, while increasing ¹⁵NO₃-N content in the roots. Genes such as <i>OsNRT2.1/2.2</i>, <i>OsNRT1.1B</i>, and <i>OsAMT1.2</i> were downregulated by both Cd and ABA treatments, suggesting that these genes may play a role in the regulation of nitrogen utilization in response to both Cd and ABA.</p> Conclusions <p>The results deepen our understanding of nitrogen utilization and regulation in rice in response to Cd and ABA, and offer valuable insights into the crosstalk between ABA and Cd in nitrogen utilization.</p>