Clarifying the nucleation process of chloride -based deicing salt solution (e.g.. NaCl solution) confined in cement-based porous materials remains an important issue to understand its detrimental effects on material substrates. In this study, the pore structures of hardened cement pastes were characterized by mercury-intrusion and nitrogen-sorption porosimetry. The ice nucleation temperature of NaCl solution of different concentrations confined in the hardened cement pastes was measured and analyzed by classical heterogeneous nucleation theory. The kinetic factor, contact-angle factor including the contact angle between ice and the substrate were evaluated. The results revealed that the contact angle between ice and the substrate showed the minimum value when adding 3% NaCl into water. The heterogeneous ice nucleation rates were found to be proportional to the water activity shifts. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.