Abstract: In this study, the early-age tensile stress development and cracking potential were investigated on cement paste and concrete. It was found that the cracking potential is closely related to the shrinkage rate rather than the shrinkage magnitude. A unique relationship was found exist between the shrinkage rate and cracking time for cement paste. The cracking time was then expressed as a function of a relative humidity (RH) drop rate and the aggregate content of mixtures. This study proposes a new methodology for evaluating cracking potential and has implications for mitigating early-age cracking in concrete members.