Dehydration response element binding (DREB) transcription factors play multiple roles in plant growth, development and response to abiotic stress. However, their biological functions in response to salt and osmotic stress in vegetables of the Solanaceae family are largely unclear. Here, 49 CaDREB genes classified into six groups were identified in the pepper genome. They showed high conservation in gene structure, with four tandem and six segmental duplications occurred during gene expansion, and various stress and hormone response, light and development-related cis-acting elements identified in their promoters. Transcription analyses demonstrated that they were all constitutively expressed in different organs, and were upregulated by both salt and osmotic stresses. Heterologous expression of CaDREB32 in tobacco restrained the normal growth, but increased the resistance of transgenic plants to salt and osmotic stresses. Further physiochemical analyses revealed that constitutive expression of CaDREB32 increased superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities, and proline, total soluble sugar and chlorophyll, but decreased malondialdehyde, H