Sodium chloride is widely used in food processing, flavouring manufacturing, chemical industry and water treatment. Besides being used as seasoning and table salt, sodium chloride is also used as antifreeze, preservative and antiseptic, disinfectant, electrolyte balancer and so on.

In addition, sodium chloride is widely used in chemical laboratories as a stabiliser of solutions and as a medium for experimental reactions. It is also used in the preparation of other compounds such as cuprous chloride and silver chloride.