The actor appeared with a shaved head as he entered the plea in a downtown Los Angeles federal court on Monday and told the judge he is on medication for depression. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7.
Prosecutors and Salling have agreed to ask a judge to sentence the actor to between four to seven years in prison.
The 35-year-old will also be required to register as a sex offender, pay restitution and abide by residency restrictions.
Authorities were reportedly tipped off by one of Salling’s ex-girlfriends and he was arrested in December 2015 before being released on $20,000 bail.
Lieutenant Andrea Grossman, commander of the LAPD Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, said at the time: 'It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, if you hurt a child you will be held accountable.'
She added: 'These images are more than photographs, they are child abuse.'
The actor reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in October as opposed to the maximum 20-year sentence the charge carries. in which he admitted he possessed images of prepubescent children between the ages of three and five.
The agreement states a search warrant found more than 50,000 images of child porn on Salling's computer and a thumb drive downloaded between April 2015 and December 2015.
Salling was previously sued by his ex-girlfriend Roxanne Gorzela for sexual battery.
Gorzela claimed that he forced her to have unprotected sex with him and later, when she confronted him over his actions, Salling allegedly pushed her to the ground and caused injury to her knees.
The pair settled the case for a reported $2.7million when Salling admitted to causing her to fall and injure herself through negligence.
He is best known for playing bad boy Noah 'Puck' Puckerman on the Fox musical dramedy Glee.
