Styrene is named after storax balsam (often commercially sold as styrax), the resin of Liquidambar trees of the Altingiaceae plant family.

Styrene occurs naturally in small quantities in some plants and foods (cinnamon, coffee beans, balsam trees and peanuts)[7] and is also found in coal tar.

In 1839, the German apothecary Eduard Simon isolated a volatile liquid from the resin (called storax or styrax (Latin)) of the American sweetgum tree (Liquidambar styraciflua).

[10] By 1845, the German chemist August Wilhelm von Hofmann and his student John Buddle Blyth had determined styrene's empirical formula: C8H8.

[18] Eventually, in 1876, the Dutch chemist van 't Hoff resolved the ambiguity: the optical activity of the styrene that was obtained by distilling storax resin was due to a contaminant.

Ethylbenzene is produced via a Friedel–Crafts reaction between benzene and ethene; originally this used aluminum chloride as a catalyst, but in modern production this has been replaced by zeolites.

This is energy intensive and is further complicated by the tendency of styrene to undergo thermally induced polymerisation into polystyrene,[22] requiring the continuous addition of polymerization inhibitor to the system.

[23] Exelus Inc. claims to have developed this process with commercially viable selectivities, at 400–425 °C and atmospheric pressure, by forcing these components through a proprietary zeolitic catalyst.

Ethane, along with ethylbenzene, is fed to a dehydrogenation reactor with a catalyst capable of simultaneously producing styrene and ethylene.

Commercially significant products include polystyrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), styrene-butadiene latex, SIS (styrene-isoprene-styrene), S-EB-S (styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene), styrene-divinylbenzene (S-DVB), styrene-acrylonitrile resin (SAN), and unsaturated polyesters used in resins and thermosetting compounds.

These materials are used in rubber, plastic, insulation, fiberglass, pipes, automobile and boat parts, food containers, and carpet backing.

[36] The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has described styrene to be "a suspected toxin to the gastrointestinal tract, kidney, and respiratory system, among others".

[39][40] However, a STATS author describes[41] a review that was done on scientific literature and concluded that "The available epidemiologic evidence does not support a causal relationship between styrene exposure and any type of human cancer".

[44] The US EPA does not have a cancer classification for styrene,[45] but it has been the subject of their Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program.