The sap wood of Diospyros ebenum is light-yellowish gray, with a glossy-black core occasionally containing light fibers.

The wood also has metallic gloss with fine, smooth texture whose grains can be straight, a bit chaotically organized and wavy.

It possesses the following valuable qualities: high wood hardness (twice as hard as oak), easy to polish (suitable for high-quality polishing, after which it becomes perfectly smooth), it has practically no pitting, provides glossy smooth surface, water and termite-resistant.

[citation needed] Today, the wood is commonly used in decorative wooden inlays, handmade artwork, and for parts of musical instruments that tend to receive the most wear: piano keys, fingerboards and necks for fretted and bowed instruments, pegs, tailpieces, and nuts.

In 1994, the World Conservation Union, currently known as IUCN, included Ceylon ebony tree into the Red Book.