The present invention provides: a rubber composition for treads, which contains a diene rubber as a rubber component and is capable of achieving a good balance among wet grip performance, wear resistance and blowout resistance on dry roads; and a pneumatic tire having a tread which is produced using this rubber composition for treads. The present invention is a rubber composition for treads, which contains: a diene rubber containing a styrene butadiene rubber; zinc dithiophosphate; an inorganic filler which is composed of at least one substance selected from the group consisting of compounds represented by the formula described below, magnesium sulfate and silicon carbide, and which has a BET value of 5-120 m<2> / g and a linseed oil absorption of 30-80 ml / 100 g; and sulfur. Relative to 100 parts by mass of the diene rubber, the content of the zinc dithiophosphate is 0.2-15 parts by mass, the content of the inorganic filler is 1-70 parts by mass, and the content of zinc oxide is less than 2.5 parts by mass. In the formula of mM.xSiOy.zH2O, M represents at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Al, Mg, Ti, Ca and Zr, or an oxide or hydroxide of the metal; m represents an integer of 1-5; x represents an integer of 0-10; y represents an integer of 2-5; and z represents an integer of 0-10.