This review discusses the mechanisms of arsenic (As) uptake and metabolism in plants, focusing on recent progress in understanding these processes. Arsenate is primarily taken up by phosphate transporters, while arsenite, the predominant form in reducing environments, is transported by aquaporin nodulin26-like intrinsic proteins (NIPs). In rice, arsenite uptake shares the silicon (Si) pathway for entry into root cells and efflux towards the xylem. Arsenate is rapidly reduced to arsenite in root cells, which is then effluxed to the external medium or translocated to shoots. One type of arsenate reductase has been identified, but its functions in plants remain to be fully investigated. Some fern species can hyperaccumulate As in above-ground tissues, involving enhanced arsenate uptake, decreased arsenite-thiol complexation, and increased xylem translocation of arsenite. The review also discusses the role of mycorrhizal fungi in As uptake and resistance, the speciation of As in the rhizosphere, and the complexation and sequestration of arsenic by thiol peptides. The mechanisms of arsenate reduction and methylation are also explored, highlighting the potential involvement of nonspecific enzymes and the role of vacuolar transporters in arsenic sequestration.This review discusses the mechanisms of arsenic (As) uptake and metabolism in plants, focusing on recent progress in understanding these processes. Arsenate is primarily taken up by phosphate transporters, while arsenite, the predominant form in reducing environments, is transported by aquaporin nodulin26-like intrinsic proteins (NIPs). In rice, arsenite uptake shares the silicon (Si) pathway for entry into root cells and efflux towards the xylem. Arsenate is rapidly reduced to arsenite in root cells, which is then effluxed to the external medium or translocated to shoots. One type of arsenate reductase has been identified, but its functions in plants remain to be fully investigated. Some fern species can hyperaccumulate As in above-ground tissues, involving enhanced arsenate uptake, decreased arsenite-thiol complexation, and increased xylem translocation of arsenite. The review also discusses the role of mycorrhizal fungi in As uptake and resistance, the speciation of As in the rhizosphere, and the complexation and sequestration of arsenic by thiol peptides. The mechanisms of arsenate reduction and methylation are also explored, highlighting the potential involvement of nonspecific enzymes and the role of vacuolar transporters in arsenic sequestration.