Precise determination of available cadmium in tea plantation soil is of great significance for risk assessment of the cadmium content in tea shoots and remediation of contaminated soil. To select a suitable extractant for available cadmium in tea plantation soil and to optimize the extraction method, 62 soil samples and relevant tea shoot samples were collected from Pu'er, Lishui, and Shengzhou. The extraction effects of five extractants, namely 0.1 mol·L-1 CaCl2, 0.1 mol·L-1 HCl, 1 mol·L-1 NH4OAc, 1 mol·L-1 MgCl2, and 0.005 mol·L-1 DTPA were compared. We then compared and optimized four factors, namely the extractant concentration, ratio of soil to solution, extraction time, and oscillation frequency. The results showed that the extraction rate of different extractants was 0.1 mol·L-1 HCl>1 mol· L-1 MgCl2>0.005 mol·L-1 DTPA>0.1 mol·L-1 CaCl2>1 mol·L-1 NH4OAc. The correlation coefficient between the available cadmium content and tea shoot cadmium content was in the order of 1 mol·L-1 NH4OAc>0.1 mol·L-1 CaCl2>0.1 mol·L-1 HCl>1 mol·L-1 MgCl2>0.005 mol· L-1 DTPA. The extractant concentration and extraction time had a significant influence on the extraction efficiency of available cadmium, whereas the oscillation frequency and ratio of soil to solution had less influence. The results showed that NH4OAc was the best extractant of available cadmium in tea plantation soil. The best extraction conditions were 6 mol·L-1 NH4OAC, 1∶10 ratio of soil to solution, 120 min extraction time, and 180 r·min-1 oscillation frequency.