A root-bag experiment was conducted to study the effects of insoluble Zn, Cd, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) on the plant growth, activities of antioxidant enzymes, proline, glutathione (GSH), water-soluble proteins and malondialdehyde (MDA) of Vetiveria zizanioides. The V. zizanioides uptake capacity of Zn and Cd also determined. The results showed that plant growth of V. zizanioides was inhibited by Zn and Cd. The shoot dry weight (SDW) and root dry weight (RDW) decrease by 14.2%, 14.1%, 17.0% and 17.3%, 32.5%, 35.7%, respectively, compared to the control without EDTA addition. After adding EDTA, shoot and root dry weight decreased over 10% and 15%, respectively. The toxicity from insoluble Zn and Cd in soil on SDW and RDW of V. zizanioides was in order: Zn+Cd > Cd > Zn. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), and contents of MDA and proline increased significantly, while the contents of GSH and water-soluble proteins decreased markedly with increasing Zn and Cd toxicity. With EDTA, shoot and root Zn concentrations increased in the Zn treatment by 7.3% and 37.4%, and Cd concentrations in the combined Zn and Cd treatment increased by 18.6% and 391.9% compared to the treatment without EDTA. However, Zn and Cd concentrations in shoot and roots decreased in the Cd treatment compared to the plants grown in absence of EDTA, with exception of root Cd concentration in the presence of EDTA.