Water-absorbent resins have attracted widespread attention in the field of environmental treatment due to their ability to adsorb metal ions. The article utilizes corn straw and kaolin as raw materials, and acrylate and acrylamide as polymerization monomers to prepare cellulose-based superabsorbent resin through an aqueous solution polymerization method. The cellulose-based superabsorbent resin was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The synthesized superabsorbent resin was utilized for the adsorption study of Cd²⁺ in simulated wastewater. The results showed that the cellulose-based superabsorbent resin exhibited excellent adsorption capacity for Cd²⁺. When the solution pH value was 6, the resin dosage was 0.10 g, and the adsorption time was 200 min, the effective removal rate of the superabsorbent resin for Cd²⁺ could reach 93.57%. The resin demonstrated good desorption performance for Cd²⁺ in dilute hydrochloric acid solution, with a desorption rate of 88.73%. The resin also exhibited good reusability, maintaining a Cd²⁺ removal rate of 79.12% after eight cycles of repeated adsorption. The cellulose-based superabsorbent resin possesses recyclable and regenerative capabilities, with good stability in repeated adsorption, and has potential value for the treatment of industrial wastewater containing Cd²⁺.