Ionization and dissociation of nitrosyl chloride CINO were studied using femtosecond laser mass spectra technique. Strong fragmental ions NO^＋ and Cl^＋ were observed with the laser intensity varied from 3.2× 10^14 to 2.5×10^15 W/cm^2. These fragmental ions were attributed to the direct dissociation of the parent ions. Electronic structure calculations were also carried out with Hartree-Fock, density functional and correlated levels of theory to understand the possible fragmentation pathways. The very low N-Cl bond energy in the parent ion of nitrosyl chloride is a clear reason for the absence of CINO^＋ and CIN^＋ ion peaks from the femtosecond laser mass spectrum.
