A rubber composition for a tire and a pneumatic tire

An increase in the hardness of the rubber with the passage of time is suppressed and because porous cellulose prevents the outstanding performance is reduced on ice. The rubber composition for a tire is disclosed which has 100 parts by mass of a rubber component comprising a diene rubber, 0.3 to 20 parts by mass of porous cellulose particles with a porosity of 75 to 95% and 1 to 30 parts by mass of a polymer gel which is cross-linked diene polymer particles having a functional group containing a hetero atom. Further, a pneumatic tire is disclosed having a tread comprising the rubber composition.