Usually, little attention is given to the consequences of abiotic stresses on cell division, cytological damage, and possible mutagenic and genotoxic effects. In this study, we tested a cytological approach to assess the occurrence of chromosomal abnormalities and possible disturbances in the mitotic cycle after salt stress conditions and exposure to H2O2. Bulbs of Allium cepa L. were treated with 75 mM NaCl, 150 mM NaCl or 80 µM H2O2 treatments and root tips were collected after 24 h. Histological slides were prepared and the occurrence of each mitotic phase and chromosomal abnormalities were analysed in an optic microscope. Our results showed lower mitosis rate and higher relative chromosomal abnormalities values after NaCl stress in comparison with the control. Root tips treated with 80 µM H2O2 displayed the highest mitotic index among all treatments and a relative chromosomal abnormalities value lower than the 75 mM NaCl treatment. In conclusion, our data reinforce the knowledge about the cytotoxic effects of NaCl in roots and highlight positive effects of low concentrations of H2O2 on root cell division. We estimate that cytological analysis of root tips is a simple, inexpensive, and efficient method to assess levels of different abiotic stresses in roots.