The tadpoles of amphibians are highly dependent on the water, and the gill and skin are highly permeable. When exposed to pollutants, tadpoles can be changed obviously on the behavior, growth and development, structural, physiological and biochemical changes on the level of the molecule expression, cellular and tissue structure, and physiology. So the tadpoles are considered as a suitable animal model to determine the toxicity of heavy metal polluted environmental and to monitor the environmental health. In this paper, the kinds of tadpoles were summarized and the toxic effect of heavy metal pollutants was reviewed in order to provide a comprehensive scientific basis for monitoring the environment of water.