In the Middle East region, desalination technology is gaining higher attention as compared to other part of the globe. In this article, we have carried out a study to evaluate the current status of small modular nuclear reactors and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) assisted desalination projects for the Middle East and North Africa region, developing and developed countries of the world. The potential of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for adopting nuclear reactors and coupled nuclear reactor desalination is also discussed. Theoretical and computational techniques that could be best suited for adopting nuclear desalination are described in details. Finally, the techno-economics analysis of CAREM and SMART nuclear reactors with cost estimation is discussed. The obtained results will be helpful in estimation of different cost scenarios of desalinated water from nuclear reactor. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.