Abstract. The role of ice in the formation of chemically active halogens in the environment requires a full understanding because of its role in atmospheric chemistry, including controlling the regional atmospheric oxidizing capacity in specific situations. In particular, ice and snow are important for facilitating multiphase oxidative chemistry and as media upon which marine algae live. This paper reviews the nature of environmental ice substrates that participate in halogen chemistry, describes the reactions that occur on such substrates, presents the field evidence for ice-mediated halogen activation, summarizes our best understanding of ice-halogen activation mechanisms, and describes the current state of modeling these processes at different scales. Given the rapid pace of developments in the field, this paper largely addresses advances made in the past five years, with emphasis given to the polar boundary layer. The integrative nature of this field is highlighted in the presentation of work from the molecular to the regional scale, with a focus on understanding fundamental processes. This is essential for developing realistic parameterizations and descriptions of these processes for inclusion in larger scale models that are used to determine their regional and global impacts.