Provided are: a rubber composition for treads which contains a diene rubber in the rubber component and can simultaneously achieve blowing resistance during dry running, wet grip performance and abrasion resistance; and a pneumatic tire including a tread formed from the rubber composition for treads. The rubber composition contains: a diene rubber including styrene-butadiene rubber; zinc dithiophosphate; an inorganic filler including at least one selected from the group consisting of: a compound of the formula: mM.xSiOy.zH2O wherein 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; magnesium sulfate; and silicon carbide, and having a BET value of 5-120 m2/g and a linseed oil absorption of 30-80 mL/100 g; and sulfur, wherein, per 100 parts by mass of the diene rubber, there are 0.2-15 parts by mass of the zinc dithiophosphate, 1-70 parts by mass of the inorganic filler, and less than 2.5 parts by mass of zinc oxide.