Arsenic, Pb and Zn tolerance and accumulation were investigated in six populations of Pteris vittata collected from As-contaminated and uncontaminated sites in southeast China compared with Pteris semipinnata (a non-As hyperaccumulator) in hydroponics and on As-contaminated soils. The results showed that both metallicolous and nonmetallicolous population of P. vittata possessed high-level As tolerance, and that the former exhibited higher As tolerance (but not Pb and Zn tolerance) than the latter. In hydroponic culture, nonmetallicolous population clearly showed significantly higher As concentrations in fronds than those in metallicolous populations. In pot trials, As concentrations in fronds of nonmetallicolous population ranged from 1060 to 1639 mg kg(-1), about 2.6- to 5.4-folds as those in metallicolous populations. It was concluded that As tolerance in P. vittata resulted from both constitutive and adaptive traits, Pb and Zn tolerances were constitutive properties, and that nonmetallicolous population possesses more effective As hyperaccumulation than metallicolous populations.