<p>Solar desalination is considered a promising solution to the global water crisis without complex infrastructure and additional energy consumption. However, salt deposition on the evaporation surface leads to deterioration of evaporation rate and long-term stability. In this paper, a 3D conical solar evaporator for high-efficiency salt-resistant desalination is proposed. Three different structures were designed, and the effects of them on evaporation performance and salt suppression performance were analyzed. Among them, the solar evaporator with vertical perforated cone structure showed the best performance, which could significantly improve its evaporation performance through the effect of multiple reflections and vertical pores on the surface. It achieved a high evaporation rate of 2.94&#xa0;kg&#xa0;m⁻^2&#xa0;h⁻¹ under one sun irradiation of simulated seawater. In addition, due to the multiple desalination mechanisms of diatomite, the evaporator was also proved to have excellent salt resistance, achieving an evaporation rate of 2.22&#xa0;kg&#xa0;m⁻²&#xa0;h⁻¹ under simulated seawater with a NaCl concentration of 30% without surface salt crystallization. The solar evaporator also operated stably in outdoor tests of up to seven days. With stable and efficient evaporation performance for high concentration of saline water, this design has great potential for application in sustainable solar desalination.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>