This investigation aimed to examine the protective function of vitamin E on rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) treated with cadmium chloride. Rat bone marrow MSCs were extracted using flashing-out and cultured in DMEM containing 10% FBS and 100 U/ml Pen/Strep. At the end of the third passage, cells were divided into 4 groups including control, cadmium chloride, cadmium chloride + vitamin E and vitamin E, for a period of 5, 10, 15 and 21 days in the osteogenic media. The cell viability, bone matrix mineralization and intra cellular calcium were measured using MTT assay, alizarin red staining, von kossa staining and calcium kit, respectively. Alkaline phosphatase activity was also estimated. Morphology and DNA cleavage were studied with the help of fluorescent dye and comet assay. Data were analyzed using one way ANOVA. The viability and bone matrix  mineralization of the cells treated with cadmium chloride was reduced significantly in comparison with the control group. Chromatin condensation, reduction of nuclei diameter and cytoplasm shrinkage were observed in cadmium group. The intracellular calcium and alkaline phosphatase activity of the cells decreased significantly with cadmium when compared to control group. A significant increase of these parameters was found in the group of cadmium chloride+ vitamin E compared to the control ones. Results show that vitamin E exhibits protective role against the toxic influence of cadmium on all studied parameters in rat bone marrow MSCs.