An economical source of nitrogen is one of the major limiting factors for sustainable cadaverine production. The utilization potential of soybean residue for enhanced cadaverine production by engineeredEscherichia coliDFC1001 was investigated in this study. The SRH from soybean residue could get the protein extraction rate (PE) of 67.51% and the degree of protein hydrolysis (DH) of 22.49%. The protein molecular weights in SRH were mainly distributed in 565 Da (72.28%) and 1252 Da (17.11%). These proteins with small molecular weights and concentrated molecular weight distribution were favorable to be transformed by engineeredE. coliDFC1001, and then SRH replaced completely yeast powder as an only nitrogen source for cadaverine production. The maximum cadaverine productivity was 0.52 g/L/h, achieved with a constant speed feeding strategy in the optimized SRH fermentation medium containing an initial total sugar concentration of 30 g/L and exogenous added minerals, which indicated that soybean residue could be a potential feedstock for economic cadaverine production.