Infants are exposed to higher levels of cadmium (Cd) from infant and follow-on formulas than from breast milk. We studied the bioavailability of 109CdCl2 from cows' milk formula, soy formula, wheat/oat/milk formula, wholemeal/milk formula and water in 11-day-old rat pups. The pups received a single oral dose of one diet labelled with 109Cd, 0.1 or 0.3 mg Cd/kg body weight. After 2 or 24 h or 4, 9 or 12 days the fractional retention of 109Cd in the whole body, in segments of rinsed small intestine and in tissue was measured in a gamma counter. Pups receiving 109Cd in water or cows' milk formula had the highest mean whole-body retention. It ranged from 67% of the dose in the water group to 52% in the wholemeal/milk formula group 4 days after dosing. The retention of 109Cd in the rinsed small intestine was significantly higher in the water group and the cows' milk formula group than in the cereal-based formula groups at 24 h and 4 days after dosing. It was still high in all groups on day 9, ranging from 26 to 11%. Initially most of the 109Cd was retained in the duodenum but by day 4 it had moved further down into the jejunum. In the liver, the highest and lowest retention on day 4 was 16‰ and 3‰ of the dose in the water group and wholemeal/milk formula group, respectively. In the kidney, 109Cd was still increasing 12 days after exposure in all groups. Whole-body retention and tissue levels were higher than previously reported in adult animals. The lower bioavailability of 109Cd from the cereal-based formulas compared to water and cows' milk formula on the longer survival times is most likely explained by Cd binding to dietary fibre and phytic acid in the cereal-based formulas reducing the intestinal binding and decreasing the bioavailability of Cd. The high retention of 109Cd in the small intestine, leading to a prolonged absorption period, emphasizes the importance of extending studies on neonatal Cd absorption over a long time period in order to detect for example, endpoints, accumulation of Cd in the kidney.