Like most trees, its form depends on the location: in forest areas, F. sylvatica grows to over 30 m (100 ft), with branches being high up on the trunk.

F. sylvatica male flowers are borne in the small catkins which are a hallmark of the Fagales order (beeches, chestnuts, oaks, walnuts, hickories, birches, and hornbeams).

[7] The native range extends from the north, in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Bulgaria, eastern parts of Russia, Romania, through Europe to France, southern England, Spain (on the Cantabrian, Iberian and Central mountain ranges),[8] and east to northwest Turkey,[2] where it exhibits an interspecific cline with the oriental beech (Fagus orientalis), which replaces it further east.

In the Balkans, it shows some hybridisation with oriental beech; these hybrid trees are named Fagus × taurica Popl.

Although often regarded as native in southern England, recent evidence suggests that F. sylvatica did not arrive in England until about 4000 BC, or 2,000 years subsequent to the English Channel forming following the ice ages; it could have been an early introduction by Stone Age humans, who used the nuts for food.

However, molecular genetic analyses support the hypothesis that these populations represent intentional introduction from Denmark before and during the Viking Age.

It prefers moderately fertile ground, calcified or lightly acidic, therefore it is found more often on the side of a hill than at the bottom of clayey basin.

In Norway's oceanic climate planted trees grow well north to Bodø Municipality, and produce seedlings and can spread naturally in Trondheim.

[15] A beech forest is very dark and few species of plant are able to survive there, where the sun barely reaches the ground.

[16] In the woodlands of southern Britain, beech is dominant over oak and elm south of a line from about north Suffolk across to Cardigan.

[18] Spring leaf budding by the European beech is triggered by a combination of day length and temperature.

Fagus sylvatica and other beeches are prone to false heartwood ('red heart') a condition where drought, nutrient deficient soil, branch breakage, pathogen infestation or other stressor induces formation of protection wood.

[27] European beech is a very popular ornamental tree in parks and large gardens in temperate regions of the world.

In North America, they are preferred for this purpose over the native F. grandifolia, which despite its tolerance of warmer climates, is slower growing, taking an average of 10 years longer to attain maturity.

The 2.5-acre (1 ha) public park, called 'The Longwood Mall', was planted sometime before 1850 qualifying it as the oldest stand of European beeches in the United States.

[39] Slightly toxic to humans if eaten in large quantities due to the tannins and alkaloids they contain, the nuts were nonetheless pressed to obtain an oil in 19th-century England that was used for cooking and in lamps.

From chairs to parquetry (flooring) and staircases, the European beech can do almost anything other than heavy structural support, so long as it is not left outdoors.

[45][46] It is better for paper pulp than many other broadleaved trees though is only sometimes used for this, the high cellulose content can also be spun into modal, which is used as a textile akin to cotton.