What salt is produced when hydrochloric acid reacts with sodium hydroxide?

When hydrochloric acid reacts with sodium hydroxide, the salt produced is sodium chloride. The overall neutralization reaction is HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H₂O.

Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid, while sodium hydroxide is a strong base. In water, hydrochloric acid supplies hydrogen ions and sodium hydroxide supplies hydroxide ions. Those ions combine to form water; the remaining sodium and chloride ions form dissolved sodium chloride, the same compound commonly known as table salt. The reaction also releases heat, so it is exothermic.

The reaction is often described as “acid plus base produces salt and water.” A frequent misconception is that the solution instantly contains visible grains of salt. In a typical laboratory mixture, sodium chloride remains dissolved as separate sodium and chloride ions until the water is removed by evaporation or another crystallization process.

This reaction is important in acid–base titrations. At the equivalence point, the reacting amounts of acid and base are chemically balanced. For a strong acid and strong base, the resulting solution is close to neutral, with a pH near 7 at ordinary temperatures, though the exact value depends on conditions.