It undergoes the Cannizzaro reaction even though it has alpha hydrogen atom.

[2] In the context of butanol fuel, isobutyraldehyde is of interest as a precursor to isobutanol.

E. coli as well as several other organisms has been genetically modified to produce isobutanol.

α-Ketoisovalerate, derived from oxidative deamination of valine, is prone to decarboxylation to give isobutyraldehyde, which is susceptible to reduction to the alcohol:[3] It can also be produced using engineered bacteria.

[4] Strong mineral acids catalyse the rearrangement of methallyl alcohol to isobutyraldehyde.