<p>Salinity continues to limit chickpea (<i>Cicer arietinum</i> L.) production, yet only a small part of the crop’s global diversity has been evaluated for tolerance. This study aimed to characterize genotypic variation in salinity tolerance, identify early physiological indicators of salt response, develop a simple model to predict genotype performance, and examine sequence variation in an HKT1-like gene among contrasting genotypes. We first screened 50 diverse accessions and found that 80 mM NaCl was a suitable level for distinguishing salt responses. Twenty-nine genotypes were then evaluated for a range of morpho-physiological traits, and biochemical assays and partial HKT1-like sequence analysis were carried out on ten contrasting genotypes. Heat map clustering grouped the genotypes into five categories, from highly tolerant to highly susceptible. Tolerant genotypes maintained higher chlorophyll content, relative water content, membrane stability, and antioxidant activity, along with lower Na⁺ levels and reduced Na⁺/K⁺ ratios. A regression model based on the salt tolerance index of chlorophyll content and shoot length explained 99% of the variation in membership function values and showed strong predictive stability. This should be looked with a line of caution that the high explanatory power seen in our model, likely reflects the use of integrated physiological indices under controlled conditions. Thus, the model should be viewed as an early-stage screening tool. Sequence analysis indicated indels in two tolerant genotypes, revealing sequence variation associated with tolerant genotypes at this locus in chickpea. Taken together, these results screened promising genotypes for salt tolerance and offer a preliminary basis for further functional investigation for integrating physiological and genetic information to support chickpea improvement in salt-affected environments.</p>