The different wheat varieties have different tolerance to cadmium stress, while the mechanisms underlying the Cd tolerance are still poorly understood. A pot experiment was conducted to study the changes of antioxidant enzyme activities and endogenous hormones in wheat (Triticum aestivum) genotypes differing in cadmium (Cd) accumulation (low = Pingan 8 and high = Bainong 160) in different growth stages under Cd stress. The Cd treatment (3 mg/kg) increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) and concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) and abscisic acid (ABA); in contrast, it reduced the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), transpiration rate (Tr), intercellular carbon dioxide concentration (Ci) and the concentrations of gibberellin (GA3), auxin (IAA) and zeatin nucleoside (ZR) in wheat leaves compared to the CK (without Cd). The antioxidant enzyme activities were higher in Bainong 160 than Pingan 8 under Cd stress. In addition, the changes in endogenous hormone concentration were smaller in Bainong 160 than Pingan 8 leaves. The correlation coefficients of Bainong 160 and Pingan 8 were 0.87 and 0.66, respectively. Our results suggest that high Cd accumulation (greater Cd tolerance) in Bainong 160 is associated with higher photosynthetic parameters, higher activities of antioxidant enzyme and higher concentration of hormones than Pingan 8. •Study of two varieties in response to Cd stress of by grey correlation analysis.•The Cd tolerance of wheat is related to antioxidant enzyme and plant hormone.•The Cd accumulation and tolerance of Bainong 160 are higher than those of Pingan 8.