Much attention has been given to heavy metal contamination in coastal waters and on seafood safety induced by bioaccumulation of aquatic organisms in China. To obtain the kinetic characteristics of heavy metal bioaccumulation in Chinese native organisms, the accumulation and elimination of three heavy metals (Cu, Pb, and Cd) in domestic oyster Ostrea plicatula were investigated in both laboratory and field conditions. The kinetic parameters of bioaccumulation, including the uptake rate constant (K(1)), elimination rate constant (K(2)), bioconcentration factors (BCFs), and biological half-life (t(1/2)), were estimated through nonlinear curve fitting using a two-compartment model. The results showed that the Pb and Cd metal concentration data perfectly fitted the two-compartment model, and good agreement was obtained between the predicted data and those obtained by the goodness-of-fit test. However, the Cu data did not fit the model. The modeling results indicated that the Pb and Cd concentrations in O. plicatula could reflect the contamination status of seawater and that O. plicatula is a potentially dependable indicator for monitoring heavy metal (Pb and Cd) contamination and seafood safety in the coastal areas of China.