It is a colorless solid that is soluble in nonpolar, organic solvents, indicating that it is not a salt.

It is degraded by moisture and is typically stored with additional acetic acid.

[2] In the solid state the lead(IV) centers are coordinated by four acetate ions, which are bidentate, each coordinating via two oxygen atoms.

The net reaction is shown:[4][5] The remaining lead(II) acetate can be partially oxidized to the tetraacetate by Cl2, with a PbCl2 by-product: Lead tetraacetate is a strong oxidizing agent,[6] a source of acetyloxy groups, and a general reagent for the preparation of organolead compounds.

Some of its many uses in organic chemistry: Lead(IV) acetate is toxic.