[5] Its most common side effects are digestive (mostly dyspepsia, mouth swelling, nausea, vomiting and taste disturbance), vasomotor (mostly flushing, fainting, dizziness, sweating, weakness, palpitations, shortness of breath and blurred vision) or dermatologic (usually itchiness, rash, local irritation near to the injection site and hair loss) in nature, although conjunctivitis, blood dyscrasias, kidney damage, joint pain, muscle aches/pains and liver dysfunction are also common.

[6] Rarely it can cause aplastic anaemia, ulcerative enterocolitis, difficulty swallowing, angiooedema, pneumonitis, pulmonary fibrosis, hepatotoxicity, cholestatic jaundice, peripheral neuropathy, Guillain–Barré syndrome, encephalopathy, encephalitis and photosensitivity.

[4] It also modulates phagocytic cells and inhibits class II major histocompatibility complex-peptide interactions.

[4] It is also known that it inhibits the following enzymes:[4][7] Reports of favorable use of the compound were published in France in 1929 by Jacques Forestier.

"[10] Along with aurothioglucose, sodium aurothiomalate was discontinued in the United States, leaving auranofin as the only gold salt remaining on the U.S.