Heavy metals in polluted soils can accumulate in plants and threaten crop safety. A field experiments were conducted to investigate cadmium, mercury and copper accumulation in rice grains of 38 cultivars commonly cultivated in the Yangtse River Delta, to evaluate the contributions to the daily intake of the heavy metals from rice and to screen for low accumulative cultivars. The results showed the concentrations of cadmium, mercury and copper were 1.72-714.31 μg kg-1, 1.12-58.98 μg kg-1 and 1.81-1.29 mg kg-1, respectively. There was significantly positive relationship between cadmium and mercury, negative relationships between mercury and copper. Some rice grains contained high levels of heavy metals beyond the permissible levels given by FAO and WHO for human consumption. When the mean levels of cadmium, mercury and copper (170.93 μg kg-1, 20.05 μg kg-1 and 4.05 mg kg-1, respectively) were taken into account, the daily intake contribution of these metals was found to be 51.28 μg, 6.02 μg, and 1.215 mg for cadmium, mercury and copper, respectively. All the information would be helpful for human healthy. Among the tested cultivars, cvs. Jiahua, Wuyujing 3 and Chunjiang 012 had the lowest cadmium, mercury, and copper accumulation abilities in grains and are preferred candidates for cultivation and consumption.