It is a colorless oil that is classified as an alkylated phenol.

[1] It is used as an antioxidant, e.g. to prevent gumming in fuels, and as an ultraviolet stabilizer.

It is used in jet fuels, gasolines, and avgas.

This alkylation provides a means to separate 2,4-xylenol from 2,5-xylenol since 2,4-dimethyl-6-tert-butylphenol is insoluble in 10% NaOH but 2,5-dimethyl-6-tert-butylphenol is soluble.

Subsequent to separation, the tert-butyl group can be removed in strong acid.