Due to its low mammalian toxicity at in-use levels and high activity against bacteria, especially Gram-negative species,[1] bronopol became popular as a preservative in many consumer products such as shampoos and cosmetics.

It was subsequently adopted as an antimicrobial in other industrial environments such as paper mills, oil exploration, and production facilities, as well as cooling water disinfection plants.

Bronopol is used in consumer products as an effective preservative agent, as well as a wide variety of industrial applications (almost any industrial water system is a potential environment for bacterial growth, leading to slime and corrosion problems - in many of these systems bronopol can be a highly effective treatment).

The use of bronopol in personal care products (cosmetics, toiletries) has declined since the late 1980s due to the potential formation of nitrosamines.

[3] Bronopol is supplied as crystals or crystalline powder, which may vary from white to pale yellow in colour depending on the grade.

However, due to its polymorphic characteristics, bronopol undergoes a lattice rearrangement at 100 to 105 °C and this can often be wrongly interpreted as the melting point.